Bar & Pole Piling hoping to come to Quitman

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - News 11 was in Quitman Tuesday night when the Board of Alderman discussed a pole mill that a business is hoping to bring to the area.

“I’m hoping that we get an opportunity to lay our plan before the board and get them to take to it to where they would see how advantageous it would be for both parties,” said Justin King, procurement specialist for Bar & Pole Piling.

The company would specialize in telephone poles and light poles. They would peel the bark from trees to make telephone poles and light poles for broadband and utilities in the southeast, according to the owner, Wade Rolison.

The main goal of Tuesday’s meeting was to get the property rezoned from residential to light industrial.

In 2016 the property was rezoned from light industrial to residential because the former mayor of Quitman aimed to create ‘Quitman Village’ in that location. Those plans never came to fruition, so now they’re wanting to rezone it back to light industrial so that Bar & Pole Piling can come in and put to use a spot that the mayor said is a blight on the city.

“Just let me say, this is a wonderful opportunity for Quitman,” said Mayor Steve Watkins. “Not only are they bringing in jobs, but they’re also making a $10 million investment in a blighted area in our community where we had a lumber mill. They will be restoring that area and investing in it. It’ll create jobs; it’s going to affect a lot of people in a positive way. We’re excited about it. I just want to get the board, our board, on board.”

The board voted 3 to 1 to rezone the property back to light industrial.

The next vote, to have the company come in and set up shop at this location, has been tabled to a later meeting.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WTOK. All rights reserved.