GREENSBURG — Honda Motor Co.’s decision to locate an auto plant in Decatur County finally has sunk in.
County leaders are beginning the work necessary to have the plant built by the targeted opening date of fall 2008.
Greensburg Mayor Frank Manus said work will begin immediately on the expansion of the wastewater treatment facility and water plant and building new roads.
“The amount of water they need is tremendous,” Manus said.
The water plant initially handled 2.5 million gallons a day and was expanded to 4 million. Manus said the plant needs to handle 8 million gallons a day to accommodate Honda.
Building new roads and an interstate exchange by the plant — which was promised by the state as part of the deal — also begins immediately, Manus said.
He said the exit by the site now is not conducive to traffic easily entering and exiting and heading east and west.
Manus said that the exit had been a problem for companies that were interested in the land.
Larry Jutte, senior vice president and general manager of Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., said that Honda also must deal with railroad track that runs through the land that will be used for the plant.
He said Honda has been in contact with the rail company to move the track.
With the building process beginning, it’s important to set plans for training future employees, Vicki Kellerman, executive director of the Greensburg/Decatur County Economic Development Corp., said.
“I would think that there’s some basic level of skills that would be required,” Kellerman said. “We want to make sure that any of the training would be available to the local community so that they would have a year to prepare.”
Kellerman said she’s trying to get a list of training that might be required for employees of Honda and see if the training could be done at the Greensburg Community Learning Center or with the help of Ivy Tech State College.
People have called Kellerman for several months inquiring about getting hired at Honda. She said she has a stack of resumes on her desk that she’ll pass along to Honda at the appropriate time.
Because people will be coming to Decatur County soon to begin work on the plant, and in waves during various stages of the project, the county mist answer meet basic needs, such as where to purchase certain goods and where to eat.
Melanie Maxwell, executive director of the Decatur County Visitors and Recreation Commission, said she is working with hotels to make sure their employees can answer guests’ questions. She said that’s important because not all hotel employees live in Decatur County.
Maxwell is finishing a new brochure for Decatur County. The county’s visitors and recreation Web site is being updated.
“We have to make sure we have information ready to go,” Maxwell said.
The packages would provide a list of chamber members and describe the services they offer.
And with people coming to Decatur County, Freeman said it’s important to make sure an adequate amount of housing is available, and to locate land that can be developed for residential or commercial use.
Freeman said Realtors who are chamber members have been receiving calls from outside developers wanting to develop land.
