Dear Editor,
It is with interest I read the article "BG Products ready to build in El Dorado" in the Wichita Eagle Thursday November 19, 2009. The article quoted company CEO and chairman Galen Myers as saying how much better this move will be for the company relocation in El Dorado. The move is being financed with about $32 million worth of industrial revenue bonds issued by the city of El Dorado. It is to be just great for everyone.
It was the end of the article that I found the most interesting though. BG executive vice president Harold Erwin was also quoted by the Eagle. VP Erwin was quoted in the Eagle as saying, "One of the reasons we moved the distribution center over there in the first place was to keep it away from the blending operation." The distribution center is located east of Pioneer Balloons in the El Dorado Industrial Park.
The Eagle continues: That prevents the possibility of the inventory being damaged in case of a disaster at the manufacturing site, he said.
BG Products will, when the plans are finished, be located just a few hundred yards to the north east of Oil Hill Grade School. What is the city commission, the zoning board, the school board, parents, citizens and BG Products management thinking? Do we really want this potentially dangerous, toxic manufacturing plant this close to our grade school?
The VP wants to make sure inventory is protected. Who is watching over our inventory? Who thought this would be a "good" fit for El Dorado? Do your children go to Oil Hill Grade School? Do we wait until something happens before we speak up and admit this was not such a great idea after all?
I ask the city of El Dorado to find more suitable land for this building site. After reading BG's own VP comment about potential for damage, I can not agree that BG Products is a good fit for El Dorado anymore...
Sincerely,
Susan Storm
El Dorado
