$20M aerospace plant pitched in Perry

PERRY – A proposed plan to build a $20 million aviation and aerospace maintenance and manufacturing plant on American Indian land took one step forward Tuesday when tribal members presented the plan to residents.

In 1986, the tribe gave Perry voters a say over commercial development on land the tribe annexed from the town.

The tribe met with about 30 residents to talk about the nuts and bolts of the project.

Plans call for a 200,000-square-foot building that would be up and running by 2006.

The tribe would own 51 percent of the facility. An investor, yet to be found, would own the rest.

The tribe’s Florida-based consultant, John Shaffer, said the benefits to building the facility on tribal land would include no corporate income taxes and no unions, which would allow the company to compete globally. Shaffer stressed that although there would not be unions, employees would be treated well. The company would employ upwards of 350 people in the second year, and wages would be between $18 and $24 per hour, with full benefits packages.

Another benefit for siting the facility on tribal land would be its minority status and the preferential treatment the tribe would receive when competing for federal contracts.

The company would hire and train local people who would work under trained aviation and aerospace supervisors. Tribal officials estimate that the payroll would infuse upwards of $8 million into the local economy.

Perry voters may vote on the question of siting the facility on annexed land as early as next month.

Included in the referendum question is an amended agreement reached with the town. In the agreement the tribe would:

. Try to hire and train workers from the local area;

. Would involve the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies in the design of the project to assure proper practices for wetland alteration and wastewater and chemical discharges;

. Include a site map outlining the 12-acre parcel.

In the agreement, the tribe also said if voters approved the question it would be binding on the tribe. “Any other use of the [12-acre] parcel will require another vote by the voters of the town of Perry,” the agreement said.

Perry resident John Cook questioned Shaffer about losing jobs to foreign markets where salaries were cheaper. Shaffer said that not all foreign markets had the same standards as American manufacturers, which would be a plus for the Pleasant Point project.

Shaffer said he believed that Washington County workers could be trained to meet top industry standards.

A skeptical Perry resident, Bill Kendall, wanted to know how the tribe could ensure that this new business venture would continue in light of the tribe’s past business failures, such as the Sipayik Food Mart.

Shaffer said if the plant produced quality merchandise, the airline industry would support it. “You don’t want to be just a leader. You want to be the leader,” he said.

A woman who said she worked for an Eastport business suggested that the higher salaries would hurt small businesses in the area that could not compete with $24 per hour wages.

Shaffer agreed there would be good paying jobs, but said he did not know how to respond to the woman’s concerns.