MARTINSVILLE, Va. – A Martinsville company is expanding and creating new jobs.
Virginia Mirror Co. is spending nearly $4 million to modernize production operations at the Martinsville and Henry County plants.
That will create nine new jobs.
The company is receiving almost $250,000 in state and local grants to help with the expansion.
At Tuesday's Martinsville city council meeting, council members approved a performance agreement with the company.
“In the event that the industry defaults and can't repay (the grants), that puts the locality on the hook," Martinsville Mayor Gene Teague said. "The good news is, there's a long-term scenario for this. It doesn't necessarily help you in the current budget year.”
The city is currently in the process of repaying nearly all of an $800,000 Tobacco Commission grant received in 2015 on behalf of Dr. Noel Boaz, who planned to use the money to help open a medical school in the city.
Boaz was unable to meet certain benchmarks outlined in the grant, including getting the school up and running, so the Tobacco Commission formally requested last year that the grant be paid back.
Boaz claimed that he did not have the money because it had already been spent trying to get the school open.
Unable to pay back the grant, the city now has to pay it back.
"Martinsville's not the only (locality) that's in the process of repaying a grant," Teague said. "In this particular case (with Virginia Mirror Co.), we're dealing with a company that's 105 years old. The risks are minimal there. It's something we need to do in order to get jobs for our citizens and get the investment that we need to allow our community to grow."
If you’re interested in working for the company, visit the company's website.