Minutes 06/28/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1994 Upon motion, duly seconded and by unanimous vote, Council reappointed James H. Johnson, Jr. and Rev. William A. Shackleford, Sr. to the Martinsville City School Board for 3-year terms beginning July 1, 1994. Upon motion, duly seconded and by unanimous vote, Council adopted the following Resolution: WHEREAS, the Martinsville-Henry County community is the largest per capita manufacturing region in Virginia withover 60% of its work force holding manufacturing jobs in comparison with 14% in Virginia on the average; and WHEREAS, the Martinsville-Henry County community has been a traditional employment center providing employment opportunities to workers in surrounding communities; and WHEREAS, on June 7, 1994, Sara Lee Knit Products announced that the Central Distribution Center, totalling 628,000 square feet and employing approximately 325 people, would be closed in early 1995; and WHEREAS, that same day Sara Lee Knit Products announced its textile facility would reduce its operations from a four-shift operation to a two-shift operation in late August of this year, impacting approximately 240 employees; and WHEREAS, this employment loss was part of a world-wide downsizing by the Sara Lee Corporation; and WHEREAS, this is the second major industrial downsizing experience by the Martinsville-Henry County community since September, 1993, when DuPont announced a net full employment reduction of 650 employees; and WHEREAS, these major corporate downsizings, in association with other employment losses, have created dramatic job losses for our community and region; and WHEREAS, representatives from the Economic Development Corporation, the City of Martinsville, and Henry County have coordinated their efforts to minimize the impacts of these downsizings, and have attempted to coordinate their resources to mediate job loss; and WHEREAS, the Virginia Department of Economic Development has significant resources at its disposal regarding research capabilities, preparation of marketing materials, and direct marketing tools and personnel to make an immediate and significant impact on our community's economic development efforts; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia, in regular session assembled June 28, 1994, that it does hereby request the Virginia Department of Economic Development to develop and initiate a special marketing assistance program for our community so all resources, programs, and personnel of the Commonwealth can be focused