Commissioners Lake and Bufford Hold Whiteville Town Hall Meeting

Hardeman County Commissioners Chandra Lake and Cory Bufford held the first town hall meeting of 2023 last month at the Whiteville Community Center. Special guest speakers were Mr. Evelyn Robertson, who shared an update on the Blue Oval Project, and Hardeman County Assessor of Property Josh Pulse, who shared about upcoming changes in property assessment.

Blue Oval City and the Megasite have been hot topics of conversation since last year. Although the location of the Megasite is about 30 miles away from Whiteville, the town as well as Hardeman County expects to be affected by the project. Robertson explained his involvement with the mega site, where Blue Oval City will be located, is to give the community a better understanding of the project and how it all comes together.

“There are so many roles associated with the Megasite,” said Robertson who is on the Megasite Authority Board, which was established November 2021 by the Tennessee State Legislature. “Sometimes it [Megasite Authority Board] gets confused with the Megasite, which also gets confused with Blue Oval City.”

To bring more clarity Robertson explained the purpose of the Megasite Authority Board as being responsible for establishing, managing, and governing the operational effectiveness of the Megasite, and to address the infrastructure needs associated with the Blue Oval City project.

“If you think about the infrastructure needs, they are massive. You don’t just pick former farmland and start building a factory. You must make sure the infrastructure is in place to make that happen. It not only requires working with the state and federal government, but it also requires working with local government.

The Megasite is located in Stanton, Tennessee, which is in Haywood County, but a portion of the Megasite, 206 acres, is in Fayette County. Between the two counties, the Megasite totals 4,100 acres. Blue Oval City will be located on 206 acres in Fayette County and 2,973 acres in Haywood County. Also located on the Megasite will be the Tennessee Board of Regions that will have a TCAT training facility. Dyersburg State Community College is also expected to have a portion of its EMS training program at the Megasite.

“The Ford assembly plant will make F-150 and Mach-E Mustangs, SK Innovations will be the electric battery plant, and the board of regions with the TCAT. Those are the three entities that are presently going to make up the operational aspect of the Megasite on 3,200 acres. It is possible some other entities could be involved on that site, maybe suppliers for Ford or suppliers for the battery operation or some other businesses located there as well.”

Blue Oval City is expected to begin production in 2025, employing 5,800 people with 3,300 at the Ford plant and 2,500 at SK Innovations. With Highway 179 being a straight shot from Whiteville to Brownsville, many of those people and the traffic will be coming through Whiteville. Robertson noted Whiteville has a lot of good opportunities (ex: financial) with this new venture and urged the citizens and the town to be ready.

Hardeman County Assessor of Property Josh Pulse answered questions about the new property reappraisals that will happen this spring. Some of the citizen concerns were the possible increase of property taxes with how the people would be affected. Pulse did agree property taxes for some citizens may increase, but also noted there is a possibility some property taxes could go down after reappraisals. He shared about a change that has happened in the last couple of years not only in Hardeman County, but also throughout the country. People have bought and sold property at a higher value than its assessed worth.

“A lot of people have moved into Hardeman County over the last couple of years,” said Pulse. “Property has sold for higher prices than normal. There is a difference between market value and assessed value.”

At this time, it is unknown how this will affect property taxes, but city and county officials and citizens should be aware. Reappraisal notices are expected to be mailed out April 2023.

Commissioners Lake and Bufford plan to host future town hall meetings in Whiteville to keep the citizens they represent informed about issues that affect their town. Commissioner Bufford also encouraged citizens to attend the Hardeman County Commission meetings to stay informed.

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