Published: June 22, 2009 10:19 am      

City courts gun maker

City: Council sets special session on building before Tuesday’s regular meeting

The city council plans to hold a special meeting on Tuesday to conduct a public hearing on a financing the construction of a new building — with hopes of bringing a firearms manufacturer to McAlester.

The company is Sabre Defence Industries, said McAlester Mayor Kevin Priddle.

Asked today if the city had a definite commitment from the company, Priddle said “The commitment is contingent on our ability to provide them with a building and to secure a funding commitment from our local financial institutions.”

Sabre Defence Industries is based in Nashville, Tenn., according to the company’s Web site. Among the items manufactured by the company are .50-caliber machine gun barrels. Sabre also manufactures items for the commercial and law enforcement markets.

The mayor is enthused about the plan to have the company open a plant in McAlester.

“Recessions come and go, but guns and manufacturing for the military is an ongoing process,” Priddle said.

The special meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The agenda calls for the council to conduct a public hearing and discussion on the city’s seeking funding from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce on a Community Development Block Grant-Economic Development Infrastructure Financing Program for $4,166,100.

The money would be used to construct a 40,000 square ft. manufacturing building at the Steven W. Taylor Industrial Park, according to the meeting agenda, which did not mention any company by name.

Priddle said holding the hearing is the next step in the process to have a Sabre Defence Industries facility in McAlester. He said the hope is to secure at least $3.5 million in funding for the $4.1 million project from the Department of Commerce, and to obtain the rest from other sources.

Guy Savage, the CEO and owner of Sabre Defense Industries, said in a letter to Priddle that the company supplies more than 70 percent of the U.S. Army’s Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns and barrels and also manufactures barrels for weapons used by the U.S. Air Force.

If the project moves forward as planned, estimated employment would be for from five-to-10 individuals in the first 90 days, hiring of an additional 40 employees at the end of the first year and another 75 individuals from the second through the third year the company’s in McAlester.

Projections are for employees to be paid from $15 to $20 per hour, plus benefits.

The McAlester Economic Development Service, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma are working on the project to bring the company to McAlester, according to the letter.

Following the special meeting, the council plans to meet in regular session at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The regular meeting is set to include public hearings regarding two city ordinances.

One ordinance would amend previous Ordinance No. 2299, which established the budget for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year.

The second ordinance would establish the budget for the upcoming 2009-2010 Fiscal Year. Included in the budget is $38,447,702 in expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year.

Also on the agenda is an item to consider and act upon a resolution authorizing a 4 percent pay increase for city employees outside the official non-uniform pay plan of the city.

The item involves a pay increase for non-uniform employees who are outside the city’s official pay plan.

Other items on the agenda call for city councilors to consider and act on the following:

• Authorizing Mayor Priddle to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 97 related to making pension contribution of a portion of holiday pay for various members of the bargaining unit.

• Authorizing Priddle to sign a renewal letter with United Healthcare for $1,540.332 for the upcoming fiscal year, which ranges from July 1 to June 10, 2010.

• A measure to authorize Priddle to sign a $60,000 contract with Pride in McAlester, reflecting a request made recently by the private clean-up group’s chairman. J.T. Collier.

• Awarding of a bid to Bravo Construction in the amount of $228,068 for the construction of utility extensions at 14th St. and at Village Boulevard.

• Review the city’s Citizen Participation Plan for 2009.

• Consider and act upon a resolution for the current fiscal year affirming the city’s commitment to facilitate and administer any awarded funds from the state Department of Commerce.

• Consider and act upon a resolution declaring certain buildings dangerously dilapidated and a detriment to the public welfare and the community.

• Discussion and action to place on file the Hotel Tax Report for the 2007-2008 Fiscal Year, which involves an audit by Crawford and Associates on the hotel tax revenues generated by hotels and motels in the city limits.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.



About Sabre Defence



• Sabre Defence Industries was founded by CEO and owner Guy Savage in December 2002 and is now based in Nashville, Tenn.

• It’s a leading weapons provider to the U.S. government and the commercial market. The company supplies U.S. troops — the U.S. government is its biggest client — with barrels for .50-caliber machine guns and 7.62 mm mini-guns. Other customers include police departments and security forces.

• Sabre sets itself apart in the assault rifle market by manufacturing the critical components of its weapons in-house.

• The company custom mills most of its rifle parts, and uses chrome Moly-Vanadium alloy and stainless steel metals for rifle barrels. Also, barrels are heat treated to relieve barrel stress, a known problem for weapons used during sustained fire.



Source:

www.sabredefence.com