(November 28, 2007)—Marlin City Manager Randall Holly resigned Wednesday, saying a majority of members of Marlin’s City Council have stymied his efforts to attract new businesses and new jobs to the Falls County community.
The issue bubbled to the surface earlier this month, after Kosse-based RTLC Piping Products, Inc abandoned plans to expand its operations into Marlin, where it had hoped to build a branch facility that would have employed about 100 workers.
The company ranks among the leading manufacturers of large-diameter steel pipe in the U.S.
In a letter obtained by News Ten, RTLC President Billy Terrell said, “a move into an adversarial climate such as exists in South Marlin would not be beneficial to RTLC.”
Click Here For The Full Letter From The Company To The City Of Marlin
Holly was working with the company, which wanted to negotiate the purchase of a tract of city-owned land in south Marlin to build a plant.
But petitions began to circulate in nearby neighborhoods in opposition to the plant, which some city officials conceded would have been a shot in the arm to the town’s struggling economy.
“Investing millions of dollars into a neighborhood and having to fight with the other residents is not good business,” Terrell wrote.
“There are other communities in the area offering better plant sites and a pro business attitude that would be much better for our operation,” he said.