REGION WILL BENEFIT, SAY OFFICIALS

The new Procter and Gamble tissue and paper-towel plant slated for Cape Girardeau County won't manufacture a revenue windfall for the Jackson School District.

Under state law, the increase in local tax revenue for the school system would be offset by a corresponding reduction in state aid, said Terry Gibbons, assistant superintendent for the Jackson School District.

But Gibbons and other officials said Wednesday the plant will benefit the entire area.

The plant will bring some 350 jobs, spur a growth in housing and boost sales-tax revenue for the county, local officials said.

The state of Missouri weighed in with a number of financial incentives to land the new plant, which will be built next to P&G's diaper plant in Cape Girardeau County.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development will provide a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for road improvements. The state also has pledged $1.68 million in various funding for job training as well as enterprise-zone tax credits and possibly another $5 million in bonds.

The Missouri Transportation Department will relocate a milelong section of Route J in the next several months to make room for the new plant.

"We are trying to get the road moved so they could start earthwork on the project this fall," said Scott Meyer, the transportation department's district engineer in Sikeston.

He said the state's willingness to relocate a section of Route J in a timely manner was one of the keys to landing the plant.

"I don't think they thought government could move that fast," said Meyer.

Improvements also are being considered for Highway 177, which runs to the plant.

Meyer said the state in the future might improve the Highway 61 and Interstate 55 interchange at Fruitland or even consider extending Highway 177 and building a new interchange on I-55 to accommodate an expected increase in traffic.

The new jobs generated by the plant will result in more families moving into the Jackson School District. That will boost enrollment in the district, Gibbons said.

The industrial project will be financed with low-interest bonds that will be issued through the Cape Girardeau County government. P&G will buy all the bonds.

The county could end up selling some $550 million in bonds, said Gerald Jones, Cape Girardeau County's presiding commissioner.

The county technically will own the plant and then lease it to P&G for 30 years.

The Fortune 500 company will make payments in lieu of property taxes. "It will be the same amount as if it were being taxed," said Jones.

Most of the money that will be paid in lieu of taxes will go to the Jackson School District, Jones said.

The payments in lieu of taxes are a necessary incentive for landing big industries, Jones said.