Council recognized Mosaic contributions

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 18, 2013

By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

VACHERIE – The St. James Parish Council made several resolutions that may ultimately benefit the future of the workforce during its Wednesday night meeting.
The council approved the Mosaic Company to receive a 50 percent rebate of a 1 percent local sales and use tax in recognition of the contributions that the company has made to the parish. The rebate will go toward building materials for its new $700 million ammonia production plant.
St. James Parish President Timmy Roussel commended the company for its contributions to the surrounding community. Roussel expounded on its hiring of St. James Parish citizens, willingness to communicate with the council and efforts to reach out to small businesses.
“We have right at 530 businesses in St. James Parish. Of course, some of these business cannot do business with Mosaic for various reasons. They sent a letter to 200 businesses in St. James Parish opening their doors to those business. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen any industry do such a thing on a broad scale,” said Roussel.
Mosaic is presently in the final stages of designing and developing plans for the addition. The plans were revealed last December. According to information released by the company, the expansion would create
53 new direct jobs, and an estimated 366 new indirect jobs would result from the expansion. Approximately 1,400 workers would be needed to build the plant.
Steve Susick, plant manager of Louisiana Operations for the Mosaic Company, said the company created an engineering study for the plant with a tentative location in Louisiana, but that plant could also be located in Florida. Susick went on to say that receiving the council’s approval for the incentive is a big factor in the company’s decision.
“By us getting that incentive, that will go favorably toward our analysis. There’s still work to be done. That decision in itself doesn’t guarantee that we will build the plant in Louisiana, but it certainly adds to the potential that it will be,” said Susick.
The council also passed two other resolutions approving aluminum manufacturer Noranda Alumina LLC and Wolverine Terminals LLC to participate in the benefits of the Louisiana Enterprise/Quality Jobs Program, which will provide a 5-or-6-percent cash rebate of annual gross payroll for new direct jobs for up to 10 years.
Wolverine Terminals is slated to complete a $30 million crude oil terminal and blending operation by the middle of next year. The terminal will have five tanks for crude oil storage, blending and domestic shipping.The project will generate an estimated 20 full-time “quality jobs.”