The meat processing company that had shown an interest in Albert Lea in late January is asking the city to assess the desire for a 1,700-to-2,000-job company headquarters and pork-processing plant, city officials said Thursday.

City Manager Paul Sparks said the company, Premium Pork, LLC, has contacted him, asking the city to address two issues: timeliness and reliability.

For timeliness: &uot;They are looking for the ability to make a decision in a tight timeline, without dragging it on through the summer,&uot; he said.

For reliability: &uot;They want to be able to rely on us without the possibility of us backing out,&uot; Sparks continued.

Sparks said if the city were to be open to the company, and the company was, in turn, interested in Albert Lea, the project would move quickly.

&uot;Once we say yes,&uot; he said, &uot;they said they’d drop $1 million into the project within 30-45 days after that decision.&uot;

The company is affiliated with other United States pork processing companies, but Sparks said they plan on creating a new company. There are four owners who have more than enough capital to start a plant.

Sparks said they have $60 million in cash equity, and amongst themselves have a net worth of $500 million. The plant would be a $130 million, 120,000-square-foot facility.

A possible location is still unsure. Although it had been earlier reported that it may go on Margaretha Avenue, Sparks as well as Mayor Jean Eaton both say no location has been decided upon.

The council discussed whether to have a town meeting about the possibilities of having a company of this size, and whether it would be a good move for the city. But councilors Jeff Fjelstad and Mary Kron argued that the public elected them to make that decision.

Councilor Randy Erdman said that what citizens have been asking for is more jobs. He said this would be exactly that.

The council urged Sparks to come up with a contract proposal for the company, which he said could be done within the next two weeks.

The council may, at that point, ask for public input at that meeting, but haven’t make a decision to do so yet.

The facility would be the corporate headquarters for the company, and would have 300 corporate, white-collar positions, as well as up to 1,700 processing jobs. The payroll estimates for such a facility would be between $50 to $100 million annually, depending on the wages.

&uot;This is a really big deal,&uot; Sparks said.