Officials with the Gary Redevelopment Commission gave their approval to several ordinances meant to support a suburban Chicago company that plans to move to Gary, while receiving guarantees from the company that Gary residents would get job preference.
HMD Trucking Inc. wants to build a new facility to expand on its operations in Chicago Ridge, and Gary is offering up $1.1 million in money from revenue bonds to help support the move. The city also will be covering costs of repairs to 15th Avenue to provide direct access from Interstate 65 to their proposed site in the 1300 block of Texas Street.
Redevelopment Commission officials did not vote Wednesday to support the funds until it heard from city compliance officer Tammi Davis, who in recent months has negotiated with HMD to get guarantees Gary residents would get preferred consideration for jobs.
She said that HMD has agreed to file annual reports in which they will acknowledge the residential status of every person they hire, along with anyone who winds up being laid off or terminated for cause.
Redevelopment Vice President Eric Reaves had some concerns that such a report would violate a worker's right to confidentiality, but Davis said that names will not be made public – only the residency.
"If they're going to let someone from Gary go, they're going to have to explain why," she said. "We also want to see exactly how many Gary residents wind up getting jobs."
Company officials previously have said they expect to hire about 500 people to work at the new facility – about half of whom would be truck drivers and the remainder as administrative staff. They have said they expect only about a half-dozen executives to transfer from Chicago Ridge to Gary.
Davis said the company will have to sponsor job fairs for Gary residents and will have to use their influence with other companies to get them to participate in those job fairs as well.
Davis also said HMD will advertise when they are ready to begin hiring people.
Officials previously have said that HMD faces potential fines if they don't develop in-house training programs, and is restricted from using a Gary resident's criminal record as a factor against hiring them.
Gilbert King, an attorney for the Redevelopment Commission, said he thinks the agreement "meets the needs of the city" in wanting to create more jobs for its residents.
HMD officials on Wednesday declined to comment, although company founder and president Henry Malukas said he thinks the company benefits if its new plant is staffed with Gary-area people, and he expects to have little problem complying with the agreements.