County still hopes to find Helena a plant site

Norfolk, Neb. — Helena Chemical Co. may not be giving up entirely on building a new fertilizer plant – which could cost as much as $5 million – in Madison County. Helena
officials have decided against locating southwest of Norfolk because of opposition from nearby property owners who do not want an industry operating close to their properties. Madison County currently has setbacks required for such development, but plans to hire a consultant to look over the entire situation. According to Planning and Zoning Administrator John Johnson, “What Helena told me is they wanted to locate in Madison County, but at this time decided they were no longer interested in the location and they wanted to be good neighbors, but are continuing to look at other sites in Madison County.” Johnson conceded that despite being in a rural area, the site really was unsuitable because there are a couple of subdivisions close by that generated the opposition. Three hearings were conducted regarding changing the setbacks – two by the commission and one by the county board. All three hearings had 90 or more residents attending, with most of them opposed.