LINDEN &045; An Atlanta based company is asking the Marengo County Commission to create a district in the county for renewable energy related industries as part of a proposal.

The proposal was brought before the commission by Synergy Communities and is currently under consideration by commission members. Eugene Phillips, the chief economist of the Synergy, says that the creation of a district by the group will pave the way for the company to apply for federal funds to further economic development in the area.

Members of the commission seemed leery of making any definitive move on the proposal without looking into the company more in-depth. The lack of a track record of the company with a development of this magnitude troubled members of the board.

The district that is being proposed will set the county up for development from companies involved in the renewable energy industries said Phillips. The Synergy has yet to name any companies it is looking at bringing to the area, but Phillips said they have several that they are looking into.

Phillips said that the plan is to set up all of the counties in the Black Belt for the influx of renewable energy industries and that Marengo County is the first step to that goal.

Armstead said that the members of the council are not at liberty to disclose the contents of the proposal to the public at this time.

Phillips called the proposal before the commission a &8220;catalyst for economic growth,&8221; for any area that it is implemented.