Engineering and planning firm Neel-Schaffer Inc. will handle an upcoming public infrastructure improvement project associated with DPM Fragrance’s $5 million expansion project at Cornerstone Park, supervisors announced Tuesday.
Neel-Schaffer emerged as the highest-rated firm out of three other applicants — including Calvert-Spradling Engineers, JBHM and Pritchard Engineering — after a review committee scored each group on qualifications, experience and capacity.
The firm was awarded 91 points out of 100, edging out Calvert-Spradling’s 90.5 score.
A motion to approve Neel-Schaffer’s services first failed after supervisors said they’d prefer to work with Pritchard Engineering, whose namesake, Clyde Pritchard, serves as the board-appointed county engineer.
Pritchard Engineering scored an 83.9 on the review, which was third highest out of the four groups.
Outside of the scope of his board-appointed position, Pritchard has handled about $8,000 in non-road-related projects for Oktibbeha County: a $2,665 elementary school parking lot assessment in 2014 and a $5,400 Safe Room site survey and geotechnical report this year.
The board reversed its decision and appointed Neel-Schaffer after a Golden Triangle Planning and Development District official informed supervisors of the need to appoint an engineer soon because of the timeframe associated with a pending Community Development Block Grant.
The county first held a public hearing on the $2 million-maximum CDBG application in June. Those funds, if awarded, will facilitate public infrastructure improvements — roadways, water, sewer and other needs — associated with DPM’s expansion.
Officials previously said the company’s new facility will be located on 25 acres of the Highway 25-adjacent Cornerstone Park, but GTPDD Project Analyst Benson it may land in another part of the industrial park.
It is expected to begin constructing a 150,000-square-foot building near the end of the year, and the expansion is projected to create an additional 100 jobs.
Funding sources for the project include local and state incentives, including contributions from the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Association, the pending CDBG and the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The GTPDD is seeking about $200,000-$300,000 from the ARC, Benson previously said.
OCEDA owns Cornerstone’s property.
Cost estimates for the improvements are not yet known since the full scope of the project’s requirements have not yet been announced.
DPM, which includes Aspen Bay, has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing, privately owned companies in the U.S. It specializes in the production of high-end specialty candles sold by independent shops and upscale retail chains.
“DPM Fragrance choosing to continue their growth in Starkville says a lot about their relationship with the local community,” Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said in a release last month. “They are building a world-class facility and growing with world-class employees.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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