Lonestar Gin approaches Pampa EDC for loan or grant

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The Pampa Economic Development Corporation board of directors held a meeting on Thursday for a regularly-scheduled meeting. 

During the meeting, Lonestar Gin general manager Carey McKinney approached the Pampa EDC requesting a loan/grant to re-coup some funding used to improve the environmental quality of the plant.

McKinney talked about what the gin has already done for the local economy.

“That plant’s got 9,200 horsepower in it, it requires a lot of electricity,” McKinney said. “Xcel Energy is really going to like us. Our electric bill will be $115,000/month when we’re up and running 24 hours a day. Natural gas will be $50,000. 

“Our payroll weekly is $12,000 and we haven’t even got started. I believe we’ve got 10 full-time positions right now that come with benefits and everything. We have brought around 16 children that are in the Pampa school district.”

McKinney reflected on last year when the gin was met with heavy opposition from residents south of Pampa.

“We had to apply for an air permit and it’s easy for someone to get on the computer and make a comment and some comments ended up costing us 110 extra days of air permits and probably close to $500,000,” McKinney said. “Some of it we did voluntarily and some of it we did by hiring environmental engineers, attorneys in Austin, attorney’s locally and fortunately we got a permit Feb. 26, 2019.”

McKinney added they met with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and 15 minutes later they had an air permit. McKinney also said Lonestar Gin is among the biggest in the United States.

“They advertise Adobe Walls (in Spearman) as being the biggest in the world, and it is under one building, but there are two plants in that one building,” McKinney said. “Our single plant, versus one that they built in the last two years, is bigger. We’re probably the largest in the U.S.”

McKinney said Lonestar Gin spent $250,000 on “cyclones” to help control the emissions of dirt and go above and beyond the TCEQ requirements.

“We want to be good neighbors,” McKinney said. “The biggest problem the plant in White Deer has, and I am not bad-mouthing those guys, but they sit 600 feet off the road. The prevailing wind travels across the highway and every one of us takes U.S. Highway 60 to Amarillo. 

“When it’s harvest, there is dirt coming. There will be dirt coming off our plant but it’s not going to be that far because we went above and beyond what they required us to do and spent more money.”

McKinney said the Lonestar Gin is in the area to stay and would like to recover some of the funds they didn’t plan on spending for the TCEQ permit process.

Board member Glennette Goode asked if all of the employees are living in Pampa, to which McKinney said the ones they are hiring do, but some of the experienced employees being brought in for training do not.

McKinney also said there are “13-14 farmers” that may be bringing bales and cotton from Oklahoma.

Goode asked what the plant is doing when it’s not cotton harvest time to which McKinney said they will be working on maintenance.

“Cotton comes with a lot of sticks, leaves, dirt and stuff,” McKinney said. “With sticks, leaves and dirt, any time you move it you’re creating wear on metal. If we operate four to five months out of the year 24/7 and we close on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; it takes us the other six months to maintain and change out worn parts.”

McKinney said during the four months, the employees at the plant will be working seven days a week, 12 hours a day.

Earlier in the meeting there was a public hearing held to discuss a grant of up to $22,000 to Clarendon College for the purchase of a portable career and technical training and certification equipment to be based in Clarendon College-Pampa center.

There was no one to speak on the topic and the public hearing was closed. 

Board member Druston Chidester resigned from the Board as his career is relocating him.

The Pampa EDC board of directors approved the following:

• Authorization to engage the auditing firm Dosier, Pickens and Francis to perform the 2018-19 Annual Audit.

• Minutes of Aug. 15, 2019.