CNJ Staff
The city will receive a $1 million federal grant today to construct a rail spur for the industrial park, according to Clovis Industrial Development Corp. Executive Director Chase Gentry.
U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M. will deliver the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration grant during a ceremony.
Rail access for the city’s proposed industrial park would improve the possibility of bringing manufacturers to Clovis, according to Gentry.
“Of all the companies I’ve talked to, all of them are looking for rail access,” he said.
Gentry said the grant was written by Gregg Williams, director of economic development for the Eastern Plains Council of Governments.
Williams said the administration’s goal is to create jobs.
Gentry said he anticipates the park to create more than 100 jobs.
Gentry said state legislators and the governor helped raise the $1.5 million in matching funds required for the grant. Those funds were used to install water and sewer lines and pave the park’s main road.
