Meat Packing Plant Might Locate Between Holbrook And Snowflake

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By Linda Kor
    Tri-Western Meat Packing officials will make another bid for a potential site for their new operation, but this time the approach will be a little different.
    Dave Mills, who is no longer the consultant for Tri-Western but is now acting as consultant for Snow-flake Farms, wants to make certain that the public is aware of situation in order to avoid conflict in the future.
    “Snowflake Farms owns a 40-acre parcel 13 miles north of Snowflake and 13 miles south of Holbrook, and about one mile west of Highway 77,” explained Mills. “If this site gets approved for industrial zoning, then Tri-Western may be interested in purchasing the land for their company.”
    Mills stated that Tri-Western is no longer willing to go through the process of rezoning land due to the response from the public in the past. As a result, Snowflake Farms will go through the process of rezoning with Navajo County before Tri-Western makes any definite decisions on land purchase.
    It’s been a long, arduous road for Tri-Western officials, who have attempted to set up shop in three pre-vious locations in the county, two in Holbrook and one in Snowflake. Each attempt has been met with eve-rything from some positive feedback to mostly outright anger from citizens in both communities.
    The biggest concern would appear to be the potential odor that may come from the meat packing com-pany, although Tri-Western officials have stated that odors would be minimal as they must operate under strict regulations to maintain cleanliness and must do a 100 percent wash down of the facilities every day.
    Tri-Western has continued to investigate possible locations in the area despite the concerns of local residents and has reportedly taken into consideration every possible method of accommodating the residents. Mills noted this location was suggested by some of the angry residents at the last public meeting held in March.
    “There is only one home within an eight-mile radius of the site. You can’t get much more remote than this,” stated Mills. He also pointed out that the direction of the wind would keep any odor from directly hitting either community a majority of the time.  
    Mills said he feels it is important to emphasize a few points. “To begin with, we need to realize that this operation will bring in at least 70 new jobs to our communities. With the potential layoffs at the paper mill and the economy the way it is, we can’t afford to turn away jobs,” he noted. “The overhauls at the plant won’t last indefinitely either and then where will people go?”
    He added that the tax revenue to the county would benefit everyone.
    Another point Mills made was that the Malapai Meat Packing facility is just two miles as the crow flies from the Snowflake Country Club and he’s never heard any complaints about that facility. “Honestly, I doubt if many people even know it’s there,” he said.
    In order to ease any concerns that citizens may have, a public meeting will be scheduled at the Navajo County Governmental Complex in Holbrook.
    “This is not a meeting for a debate. It’s just to provide information. This is property owned by Snow-flake Farms, and would be a prime industrial location for any operation,” explained Mills.
    Those in attendance at the meeting will be Mills, representatives from Snowflake Farms and officials from the Navajo County Planning and Zoning Department. There will be no representatives from the Tri-Western organization present.