Etowah Commissioners to meet on megasite

The Etowah County Commission is set to discuss the Little Canoe Creek Industrial Park property this week with the director of business development for the state department of commerce during a Tuesday morning work session set to get underway at 9 Tuesday morning in the commissions conference room.  Commission Chairman Larry Payne is encouraging the public to attend, and if enough people are present, the meeting will be moved to the commission chambers.  Payne said the Director is expected to discuss the decision to declare the Little Canoe Creek property a megasite and offer advice on how the Commerce Department can help the commission with plans for the site.  The commission voted last week to designate the Little Canoe Creek property as a megasite development for Etowah County.The property is between Interstate 59 and U.S. Highway 11, about 4 miles from the Steele exit on Interstate 59.  The commission in 2008 voted to purchase the first piece of land — about a 200-acre tract — and gradually increased the acreage to the current level of almost 900 acres, making it the largest site of its type in Northeast Alabama. The commission has spent about $2.6 million on land, and roughly another 100 acres is needed for the property to be named a megasite to qualify for state development funds. An estimated $450,000 is needed to purchase the additional property.