Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
A local businessman who is negotiating the sale of a site west of town as the possible future home of a Wal-Mart supercenter has submitted subdivision plans for the lot to the county.
Ron Harmon is asking the Havre-Hill County Planning Board to subdivide portions of three separate parcels west of Kmart to create a 12-acre lot Wal-Mart is interested in buying. The sale has not been finalized.
"This is the next step," Harmon said Wednesday. "(Wal-Mart) is pursuing this process, and I would have to believe they are pursuing it to the end. But it is just that - it's a process."
A public hearing will be held June 21 at 7 p.m. in the Hill County Courthouse Annex meeting room. The board will consider a subdivision application made by Harmon and Meissner Tractors Inc.
Harmon said he has an agreement with Meissner Tractors to transfer ownership of the land to him.
"They're not involved (in the sale)," he said.
Wal-Mart representatives met with Hill County commissioners May 10 and announced plans to open a 105,000-square-foot supercenter by the end of next year. The store would house a grocery center, garden shop and tire center, and may also have a gas station. A store of that size typically employs about 275 people, with 60 percent of those working full time, a company official said.
A Wal-Mart spokesman did not return a call seeking comment today.
