A new industry could be coming to Russell County, according to Jamestown Mayor Brooks Bates. At last week's regular meeting of Jamestown's City Council Bates announced that a Wisconsin-based snack food company is looking at locating in Russell Springs' French Valley Industrial Park as well as locations in Wayne and McCreary counties.

If the Russell County location is chosen to build the factory, approximately 750 jobs at hourly rates of $13 could be added to the county, Bates said.

He also said the factory would need around 1.4 million gallons of water per day to operate.

The talk of the new industry came after Bates told the city council that they may soon have to raise water and sewer rates.

The rise in rates would be to satisfy the city's bonding company and lending agency as part of Jamestown's $6.9 million debt for the new water plant which opened last fall.

Bates said the ability to provide water in bulk is a major advantage for Russell County in courting the industry to the area.

In other happenings at the meeting:

• Mayor Bates said he, Public Works Director Ottis Skaggs and other city workers have talked about outsourcing the city's garbage pickup to Morgan Sanitation in Russell Springs. He said the city's garbage rates would not change if they did decide to outsource the service and current city employees that pick up garbage would not be laid off from their positions.

This issue will be discussed in further detail at February's regular meeting.

• City leaders reappointed several persons to various boards at the meeting. Glenna Bertram was reappointed to the city's Cemetery Board for one year, Larry Joe Murray was reappointed to the Natural Gas Board for two years while Eldridge Richards, Clifton Taylor and Robin Rigney were reappointed to the Jamestown's Ethics Board for three-year terms.

• Mayor Bates announced the bid totals for four new police cruisers. The city's police department will soon be getting three new Chevrolet Impala cruisers from Franklin Motors for $65,217.00 and one Dodge Charger cruiser from Freedom Dodge in Lexington for $21,880.

Police Chief Derek Polston said the new vehicles have been ordered by the two dealerships and will arrive within 60 days from ordering.

• Bates said that Tyler McGowan took over as the city's new clerk on December 30 and that the city had hired Jeremy Ferguson as a new police officer earlier this month as well. "He was already trained," Bates said of Ferguson, who completed the state police academy.