Over 40 community leaders met Wednesday night at the Taylorville City Council Chambers, at the request of mayor Greg Brotherton, to brainstorm ideas on how to pay for providing infrastructure for the new Taylorville Industrial Park on the city’s northeast side. The Taylorville Development Association purchased some 84 acres there, from Archer Daniels Midland, several years ago, but infrastructure such as water, sewer, power, telephone, streets, curb and gutter have not been started due to lack of funds.

Brotherton told Regional Radio News that the issue of developing the new Taylorville Industrial Park is important for the city and the county.

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And, the Taylorville mayor added he was pleased with the turnout for the meeting Wednesday night.

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Shown above is Joe Greene, Taylorville's city engineer, explaining where the sewer line installed in 1999 for the Wal-Mart Super Center on the city's northwest side, was located, and how it would tie into a proposed sewer line to serve the new industrial park.

Former mayor Dick Adams, representing the Christian County Economic Development Corporation, echo’ed Mayor Brotherton’s comments about the importance of the development of the new Taylorville Industrial Park.

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Adams added improvements in the new park are urgent.

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Ted Gietl (GE-tul), an engineer with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly, engineers for the Taylorville Sanitary District, said the district is aware of the need for a new sewer line to go from the Wal-Mart Super Center to the new industrial park, but costs relating to continuing to satisfy the EPA, and attempts to keep sewer rates down, put the Sanitary District in a position not to have the money to build the new sewer line.

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The current estimate for the proposed sewer line to connect to the new Taylorville Industrial Park, is 3-million dollars.

Brotherton told the group at the end of Wednesday night’s meeting, that he will call another meeting of community leaders in a couple of months so that the issue can remain prominent in the community.