Nackawic home owner opposes planned location of new business

A1

By Shawn Merrithew

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

A new plant may have gained some new ground in Nackawic, but a local homeowner says the battle is far from over.

At Monday evening's regular meeting, Nackawic town council passed the bylaw amendments, with second and third readings, which would allow for a portion of land at the corner of Route 105 and Route 605 to be rezoned from highway commercial to industrial.

These amendments would allow businessmen Matthew and Malcolm Fox of York Energy Inc. to construct their new wood pellet plant at that site. The new plant would generate $20 million a year for the town.

Following the decision, resident Randy Roussie expressed his disappointment with the outcome, adding the issue is far from over.

While not opposed to the idea of the new business opening up, Roussie said he doesn't want it in that particular location. He fears the plant's location on a busy corner overlooking homes along the St. John River will have a negative impact on property values and nearby resident's quality of life.

"I feel there are other lands in town that would be more suitable for a project of this nature," Roussie said.

He said he spoke with other homeowners who feel the same way and they plan to continue their fight.

"We'll be meeting with the province to have this project stopped," he added.

Despite Roussie's objections, others in the region are throwing their support behind the project.

In a letter to council, president of the Mactaquac Country Chamber of Commerce Peter Morrison said the new plant will benefit the town and the surrounding area.

"The emergence of this business is an important economic component of Nackawic, providing 30 jobs within the town," Morrison said. "With the 30 jobs, there may be additional employment supported through wood purchases, trucking and retail pellet sales. This new manufacturer will provide a valuable market for wood waste and low-grade timer resources while generating annual purchases of goods and services for the local economy, providing employment, economic spin-offs and benefits to Nackawic and the Mactaquac country."

Jim Woodford, president and CEO of Pellet Systems International, said the town has struggled in the past few years and he feels this project will help the community get back on its feet. By forging a partnership with Matthew and Malcolm's project, he added, it will allow for his own company to grow and expand.

"They (York Energy) are building a technology the world is beating a path to our door to buy," said Woodford.

York Energy chief operating officer Malcolm Fox said he was thrilled at hearing council's decision. He added some engineering has to be completed before the company can break ground.

"This is good news," said Fox. "It is sort of a one-industry town right now, but, with more diversification, it is going to be better for the area and better for the town. If we can create a few jobs here and a few spin-off jobs, I think that's good for everybody."

Fox said he understands Roussie's concerns, and, to address them, part of the engineering work involves landscaping the property.

When its completed, he added, it would be hard to tell it is an manufacturing plant from the highway, and he doesn't see it depreciating nearby properties.

"It is an industrial park, and it has industry in it," Fox explained. "(But) we will do landscaping, planting trees and shrubs, and it will be quite presentable. I think when we are finished, the people – who are objecting to this – will be quite happy with our plant and how it is finished."

Once the engineering work is settled, Fox expects to break ground by late October or early November.

"We want to be up and running by April 1, 2009," he said. "So it will take us roughly about four months to get everything together and get the machinery and the building in. We want to get the building up before Christmas, that way we can work inside (during the winter)."