To help to provide information to the public on the potential pork processing plant as well as its possible effects on the community, Greater Jobs Inc. will be holding three public meetings next week.

&uot;We hope it creates some dialogue,&uot; said Pam Bishop, Vice President of Greater Jobs. &uot;It can provide communication about what we know about the project.&uot;

The goal of these meetings, Bishop said, is to let the public get all the information they want about Premium Pork LLC.

Premium Pork is a new company looking to build a 600,000 square foot, $132 million corporate headquarters and pork-processing plant. They are looking at three Midwestern cities, including Albert Lea, for the facility. City officials say the plant would, within seven years of opening, employ 2,000 workers, 300 of them being corporate jobs.

The three meetings will include panelists from many organizations throughout town, including the school district, the city manager, the mayor, law enforcement, Albert Lea Medical Center, human services, and others. The meetings will also have representatives from the law firm for Premium Pork on hand to answer company-specific questions.

The city council, during a preagenda meeting last week, decided against city-held public meetings on the matter. The basis discussed for meetings was to get public input on the possible economic development, but councilors said that the city should move forward with the process because of the large need for jobs.

Bishop said directors of Greater Jobs spoke with City Manager Paul Sparks and decided that public information meetings should be held.

&uot;We feel it is important that Greater Jobs can provide city leaders an opportunity to see what the community feels about this project,&uot; Bishop said.

Sparks is in the process of developing a contract proposal for the company to present to the city council within the next two to three weeks. Greater Jobs is not part of drawing up that proposal, Bishop said.

The three meetings will take place in the lecture hall at Riverland Community College. They will take place Monday, March 31 from 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, April 1 from 3-5 p.m., and Wednesday, April 2 from 7-9 p.m.