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MidwayUSA CEO renews threat to move operations after council defeat

An arms and ammunition company renewed threats to pull corporate operations out of Missouri after the Columbia City Council did not approve expansion into unincorporated county land on Monday night. The extension would have serviced the business, which is west of city limits.

The Columbia Missourian reports that MidwayUSA CEO Larry Potterfield first talked about moving business out of the state in 2014, but has resurfaced the threat since the city council overturned its decision from last year to annex the Henderson Branch Watershed, which would allow the city to expand sewage treatment infrastructure into the area.

MidwayUSA employed 346 people in the Columbia area as of May 2017. 

Though the city had originally planned to extend the city limit to include Midway’s facilities, some landowners between MidwayUSA and the city limit would not sign annexation agreements.

Potterfield said that without the expansion, the company’s current in-house sewage management will be out of compliance with wastewater treatment regulations by the end of this year.

The city council could still bring up the decision during future meetings.

Zia Kelly and Nathan Lawrence contributed some details to this report. 

For more information, visit the Columbia Missourian website