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PEDC Minutes <br />June 19, 2002 <br />Page 6 <br />starting at 8:30 A.M. through 3:30 P. M. He said that he and Eric will be <br />attending and invited the City Manager, the City Attorney and anyone else <br />who wish to attend to this training session. <br />Mr. Vest introduced Paul Ray Spencer and advised that Mr. Spencer makes <br />stuffed jalapeno peppers and samples were available. Mr. Vest said that Mr. <br />Spencer was selling them through his store and to other convenience stores. <br />Mr. Vest told the Board that Mr. Spencer secured an account with the <br />Choctaw Nation's stores and that they came to him and wanted him to <br />provide peppers to fifty-two stores. There is an opportunity for a local small <br />industry to grow into what could be a major industry. Mr. Vest said he had <br />worked with a company once before that was stuffing cheese in jalapeno <br />peppers and they now have about three hundred employees. It is a <br />tremendous business. Mr. Vest felt that Mr. Spencer has the same potential <br />here in Paris and felt this is an opportunity for the PEDC to help a small <br />homegrown industry to get off the ground. Mr. Vest advised that the <br />PEDC's potential aid would be to build the facility for him, with PEDC <br />owning the facility, and do a lease purchase back to Mr. Spencer. He said <br />as the facility grew there may be a need to expand the building. It will be <br />built in a manner where it can be expanded. The building will have to meet <br />USDA specifications. <br />Mr. Spencer told the Board that he has two full-time employees at this time. <br />He said he has talked to the Choctaw Nation along with Grocery Supply, <br />who has thirty thousand stores. Mr. Spencer said he also received a <br />telephone call from one of the world's largest food suppliers and he has an <br />appointment to meet with them. He advised that he has gone from selling <br />fifteen dozen stuffed peppers to 175 to 200 dozen. Mr. Spencer informed <br />the Board that they were doing everything by hand, but there is a lot of <br />equipment that he is going to have to purchase. <br />Mr. Vest advised that the survey has been received on the Northwest <br />Industrial Park. He has the plat and will have the field notes tomorrow. The <br />