Tom Howard, right, general manager of Callaway Electric Cooperative, which owns the Callaway Energy Centre, a 79-acre industrial site in Fulton, receives a plaque Tuesday at the site from David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, indicating the industrial site is one of only five Missouri Certified Sites in the state. At far left is Fulton Mayor Charles Latham with Bruce Hackmann, director of the Fulton Area Development Corporation. (Don Norfleet/FULTON SUN photo)

By: Don Norfleet, The Fulton Sun

Now it’s official. Fulton’s Callaway Energy Centre is one of only five elite state-certified industrial sites in Missouri.

David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, presented a plaque Tuesday morning to Tom Howard, general manager of Callaway Electric Cooperative, the owner of the industrial site.

The industrial site is located around Callaway Electric’s new headquarters building along U.S. 54 just north of Missouri H.

Kerr said the certification will be a major plus for the city in attracting new industries to the city.

The presentation by Kerr was made under a tent at the site with about 75 community leaders, state and local officials and Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors.

During the event, Fulton Mayor Charles Latham lauded Bruce Hackmann and his staff at the Fulton Area Development Corporation (FRDC). The FRDC staff prepared much of the five-inch-thick application for the Missouri Certified Site designation.

Hackmann served as master of ceremonies at the event.

Howard noted that Callaway Electric will celebrate its 75th year next year. “If we want to be around another 75 years, we will have to grow our community and this is one of our investments to do that,” Howard said.

Howard said development of the site has the potential of providing jobs and economic opportunities for children now attending school in Fulton and Callaway County.

Howard said Callaway Electric’s growth created a need to build a new headquarters. The cooperative bought a large site along U.S. 54 and decided to create an industrial park with the excess space.

“This is a big day for Fulton and it’s also a big day for Missouri,” Kerr said. “The prime location of this site along U.S. 54 and Route H provides everything needed to recruit industry to this site.”

Chris Chung, chief executive officer of The Missouri Partnership, said the Dollar General Distribution Center in Fulton and the new IBM expansion announced recently in Columbia did not happen because of good luck by local agencies. He said it came only after much work by local officials seeking the industries. The Missouri Partnership was created in 2007 as a nonprofit economic development organization to promote Missouri industry.

Chung said Fulton should be proud that it is creating its own good fortune by developing a Missouri Certified Site. He said the site will be promoted not only by Fulton officials but also by many other state agencies.

Firms considering relocating or expanding typically ask many similar questions about a proposed industrial site.

Through experience in dealing with many prospective developers, the Department of Economic Development and other participating agencies have identified many of those questions and needs. The Certified Site program attempts to have many of the answers ready when a developer asks about a site.

For this reason, the Missouri Department of Economic Development helped create the Certified Sites program.

So far only five sites have been certified through the program. Fulton’s Callaway Energy Centre became one of the state’s elite sites on Tuesday. The others are in Columbia, Kansas City, Kearney and Springfield

The comprehensive review of a proposed site includes a long list of items, including availability of utilities, site access, environmental concerns, land use conformance, and potential site development costs.

Having a site certified reduces the risk associated with development of particular sites by providing up front and consistent information.

Since this information has been reviewed by the state’s technical review team for completeness, the potential buyer will achieve an increased level of detailed information to aid his decision-making.

Missouri requires a certified site to be at least 10 acres or more in size and controlled by one entity.

The site is not intended for retail businesses and contains a minimum water, sewer and electric infrastructure.

The certified site program is a cooperative effort of AmerenUE, KCP&L, Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Missouri Economic Development Council, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and individual economic developers.

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