THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220272
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
King Cotton could soon be returning to Holland, where a local businessman on Tuesday received permission from the Suffolk Planning Commission to build the state's fourth cotton gin.
The Suffolk City Council will be asked to give final permission for the project at next month's meeting. Owner Morris Glover said Tuesday that he hopes to have his gin operating and removing seeds from cotton by Oct. 1.
Suffolk, which has been yearning for more industry, is expected to receive between $15,000 and $20,000 per year in taxes from the facility.
For local farmers, many of whom live around the Holland community, the gin is a boon. With a local gin nearby, the delay between ginning and selling cotton dwindles, allowing farmers more time to plant, sell and plan for the following season.
But people who live near the proposed site turned out in force to voice their concerns to the commission.
Some worried that the cotton gin's waste piles would corrupt the local water table, which is just two feet below the ground in sections of Holland. Others feared lint or increased traffic.
Attorney Joshua Pretlow Jr., who represented Glover at the hearing, assured the commission that this gin would be a good neighbor.
The state Department of Environmental Quality forces cotton gin operators to remove cotton waste after 90 days. The operators will install a high-tech air-filtration system, he said. Truck traffic would be restricted, and added turn-off and cross-over lanes would be built on Route 58, he said.
If approved, the gin would be the first in almost 70 years to operate in Suffolk. At one time, three gins operated in the heart of Holland.
The Planning Commission, by a vote of 9-2, rezoned about 15 acres for the gin, which will be located off of Route 58 and O'Kelly Drive in rural Holland, located about 11 miles west of downtown Suffolk.
Another gin is currently being built outside Franklin at a cost of $2.5 million. Other local gins are located in Southampton County and Windsor.
Cotton production reached its all-time high in Virginia last year. The previous record was set in 1925. by CNB