In a unanimous vote on June 30, the Prescott Valley Town Council approved an employment agreement with aerospace giant Lockheed-Martin (L-M) to open a 50,000 square-foot Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) in the Big Sky Business Park on Valley Road.
L-M Western area Service Manager Bill Lamb said that in February of this year, L-M landed a $1.9 billion federal contract to consolidate 58 AFSS sites nationwide into 20, including three hubs located at Fort Worth, TX, Leesbrug VA., and Prescott.“
This will be the headquarters,” he said. “This program will transition 30-some government employees starting Oct. 4. We also have about another 130 employees that will be transferring to Prescott Valley.”Lamb said their current Prescott Airport location is too small, so L-M is moving to the new Prescott Valley location.
That center is expected to employ about 300 workers.Site plans also include a training center where current L-M employees will learn the AFSS computer systems and then return to their home locations.The town offered L-M a five-year employment incentive of $300 for each job that pays $17.50 or more.
L-M must then provide 200 equivalent jobs annually for the same five years.Mayor Harvey Skoog said he is thrilled to have a world-class operation in the high Tech sector moving to town.“We know what a big plus this is gong to be for our community and we hope our community is going to be a big plus for Lockheed-Martin,” he said.
Prescott Valley Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Gary Marks said the impact of such an agreement is far-reaching.“I hope everybody can share in the excitement.
This is a great day for Prescott Valley," he said. "This is a long term public/Private venture that is going make something very special for Prescott Valley and Yavapai County.”Marks estimated the training center alone would have an impact of more than $1 million annually on the local economy.The document submitted to the council also shows the maximum financial risk to the town is $90,000 annually, or $450,000 over the five-year span of the contract.
By Andrew Draper-For the Lonesome Valley Newsletter
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