By By Kerry Whipple Bean
publisher
Georgia-Pacific will invest more than $2.8 million in renovations to its Brewton mill, a move that local economic deveopment officials said will keep jobs in the community.
GP announced at the Brewton City Council meeting Tuesday that it will refurbish its No. 3 power boiler, which supplies about 30 percent of the steam for the mill.
The city voted to give GP a tax abatement on the project for the next 10 years. The tax abatement does not affect property tax revenue for schools.
The renovations are not expected to create jobs.
GP community relations director Jason Daniel said the abatement takes care of about $92,449 in taxes related to the renovations.
GP purchased the half-century-old mill in 2006 from Smurfit-Stone. At the time, the transaction involved just the assets of the mill, not the employees. Workers had to re-apply for their jobs.