The meeting was held in Jackson, but the message Gov. Bill Lee delivered at Lane College rippled through West Tennessee, Thursday.
Lee, who delivered his State of the State Address, Feb. 3, revisited his speech – but touched on several subjects important to people in West Tennessee.
“It’s been a rewarding year for me, far more rewarding than I could have imagined, to serve Tennesseans to help make their lives better – to give them a better education, to help recruit and create good jobs, to make our state a leader in the nation” Lee said, “It’s been an honorable, humble experience for me.”
Lee stressed healthcare, education and jobs while discussing the state as the best fiscally managed state in America, the best business climate in America and the best state for small business growth.
Lee said there were 108 project commitments to create 16,500 jobs and $3.6 billion of capital investment in Tennessee during year one of his administration.
Discussing West Tennessee, Lee said there were 42 project commitments that created 5,000 jobs and $1.3 billion of capital investment.
He also the state is investing $20 million to bring Great Wolf Lodge – a world class tourism destination with a projected 500 jobs to Jackson.
Lee also looked to clear the air on the Memphis Regional Megasite in Haywood County.
“You may have read some stories over the last week, saying we are hitting the pause button on the development, but let me tell you right now – we are not pausing in our commitment to the Megasite,” Lee said, “We continue to be fully committed to funding and finding a company (to locate) on that site and bring more jobs into West Tennessee.”
The discussion about the Megasite continued in a press conference.
“We’re talking to companies on a regular basis,” Lee said, “The pipeline is on track to finish the security of the permits and easements for that and then we will put out an RFP (request for proposal) to companies that might be interested in laying that pipeline … at that point we will know exactly what it costs, exactly the time frame to see it put in and we’ll make decisions pursing that – but I don’t think anything has changed on our direction on the Megasite.”
(PHOTO: Gov. Bill Lee)
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