Business View Magazine | August 2020

230 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020 They, in turn, provide a lot of offshoot business for our community and have proven to be very successful. Along with that, we have had recent growth with assisted living in our community and those projects. In fact, one of the new projects already expanding is one that was just completed two years ago. So, those areas have prospered. “A few years ago, we lost a state institution that was a big employer in the City of Jacksonville – our Jacksonville Developmental Health Center. It was quite a blow for the community. Some other decisions have been made, nationally, by corporate entities, and sometimes the fallout is felt on a local level. So, while we have lost some jobs in some areas, others have continued to increase. Our agricultural base in this area is very strong, as well, and we have a lot of supporting businesses with agriculture. So, we continue to maintain the existing industry which helps with employment and the job base around the community.” “We also are being very progressive as far as future development,” Ezard notes, referring to Jacksonville’s Eastgate Industrial Park, which is home to nine businesses employing more than 250 people. “Twenty years ago, we purchased some land through a conglomerate of banks and Morgan County. Now that Park is filled. We also bought a piece of property across the street from the Industrial Park, a little over 80 acres, shovel-ready, with electricity, rail to the north, and interstate to the east. So, we’re ready to pounce and we’ve had a lot of looks on that property. And, last year, we completed a $30 million water plant. We anticipate that when we get new industry here, and if there is ever a need for more water, we will be able to satisfy that.” Kelly Hall, who recently retired as Jacksonville’s Acting Director of its Parks and Recreation Department, and as such was responsible for maintaining the City’s green spaces and recreational facilities, says, “Greenspace-wise, we have nine parks throughout the town. And