1573~~~~~
A RESOLUTION APPROVIl~TG AN INDUCEMENT AGREEMENT WITH
STAFFORD RAH.STEEL, LLC, PROVIDING FOR INCENTIVES TO
STAFFORD RAILST~EL, LLC TO LOCATE ITS FACII..ITY IN THE CITY
OF WEST MEMPffiS, ARKANSAS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, Stafford Railsteel, LLC, a limited liability company ("Stafford") plans to acquire
~ control of approximately 1,200 acres of land (the "Site") located in Crittenden County, Arkansas (the
~ "Coup '), which has been annexed into the City of West Memphis, Arkansas (the "Ci ')and zoned
', appropriately for the intended use thereof by Stafford;
WHEREAS, Stafford plans to construct a ferrous recycling facility on the Site with operations
to include an electric azc furnace, a ladle metallurgy furnace, a continuous caster, preheat and reheat
furnaces and a rolling mill, a rail welding facility, and other ancillary equipment, for the production
ofhead-hardened steel rail and other steel products (the "Facili ');
WHEREAS, Stafford plans to develop the facility with an approximate total project cost and
capital investment of $340 million and expects to employ in excess of 175 people at the Facility and
to contribute substantially to the economic prosperity of the City and the County and to significantly
benefit the City and County through the creation of needed jobs and by stimulating additional
economic development;
WHEREAS, Stafford has selected the Site and located it within the City based, in part, on the
incentives and commitments offered by the City and the County;
WHEREAS, the City desires that Stafford locate the Facility on the Site based, in part, on the
positive economic impact associated with the Facility and the type of employment and expected
average wage level at the Facility;
WHEREAS, the City has determined that the potential jobs available at the Facility and the
resulting payrolls and other economic benefits aze vitally important to the economic welfare of the
City;
WHEREAS, the City Council has approved the provisions for incentives offered to Stafford
under the Inducement Agreement, which attaches as an exhibit an Inducement Agreement between
the West Memphis Port Authority (the "Authori ") and Stafford (the "Agreement"), a copy of which
has been submitted to and is before this meeting; and
WHEREAS, the Authority will have funds on hand to fulfill its obligations under the
Agreement by virtue of a local government reserve fund trust to fund the costs of incentives agreed
to by the City under its Inducement Agreement including the incentives offered by the Authority
under the Agreement and the obligations of the Authority thereunder aze limited to revenues of the
Authority.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE WEST MEMPHIS PORT AUTHORITY:
SECTION 1. INDUCEMENT AGREEMENT -The Board ofDirectors of the Authority
(the "Board")has reviewed the Agreement attached as an Exhibit to this Resolution and incorporated
herein by reference and understands all the provisions thereof, including the incentives to be offered
to Stafford thereunder. The Agreement and the incentives to be provided to Stafford set forth therein
are hereby approved by the Board and the Board hereby authorizes the Chairman of the Authority
to execute the Agreement in substantially in the form attached hereto together with such changes
thereto as the Chairman may deem desirable or necessary and in the best interests of the Authority,
his execution to constitute conclusive evidence of such approval.
SECTION 2. IlViPLEMENTATION OF INCENTIVES -The Chairman of the Authority
is hereby authorized to take all action required or permitted under Arkansas law to commence
implementation of the incentives described in the Agreement including, without limitation,
commencing construction of the port improvements described in the Agreement
PASSED: J ~ ~, 1998.
ATTEST:
Secretary
(SEAL)
APPROVED:
o~J~-'
Chairman
2