Commissioners established a five-member county industrial development authority board Monday.

County attorney Rick Clifton said the new board will be used as a “vehicle to encourage economic development in all of Covington County.”

“The board speaks to the fact that Covington County is open for business,” Clifton said. “It should have been done a long time ago. Its job is to promote, to find projects and to meet with different entities that want to come into Covington County.”

The official paperwork for the board was filed Friday in the probate judge’s office, he said.

Five members – one from the county-at-large and one from each district – were appointed and will serve the following staggered terms:

• Greg Henderson of Andalusia, six years;

• Alan Miller of Opp, four years;

• Jimmy Cox of Carolina, four years;

• Milner Perry of Florala, two years; and

• Rudon Taylor of Red Level, two years.

Clifton said the group will adopt its by-laws at its first meeting, which is yet to be scheduled, and will meet in the future on an as-needed basis.

Clifton said the board’s first project will be to partner with the Andalusia City Council, the city’s Industrial Board and the Airport Authority to finalize a bond measure for the expansion of Vector Aerospace, which will aid in the expansion process at the South Alabama Regional Airport.

“This is a positive sign for the county,” Clifton said of the new board.