Community leaders discuss issues ranging from availability of skilled labor to transportation improvements during the Cook County Economic Development Commission stakeholdersʼ meeting.
Stakeholders from all segments of the community – local governments, businesses, Chamber of Commerce, education, and more – gathered last Friday morning, Feb. 6, to discuss helping build on the momentum of Economic Development Commission accomplishments over the past dozen years.
EDC Vice Chair Michael Dinnerman welcomed the crowd to the EDC meeting room at the Cook County Airport’s Bush Bryan Terminal Building. Cook County Director of Economic Development Lisa S. Collins introduced the EDC’s new marketing slogan, “We’re not just Georgia. We’re Georgia just for you.”
Howard McClain shared the history of economic development in Cook County, from large industries that were flourishing in the mid-20th century such as Del-Cook Lumber Co. and Talley-Corbett and have now faded away, to the development of the Adel Industrial Park circa 1979-1980 on the Old Quitman Highway; from newer big industries such as JM Eagle (the largest PVC pipe manufacturer in North America), Sanderson Farms, BASF, and Colombo, to the 350-acre, certified Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site. Jerry Durden, who visited the Cook County Airport for the first time since major improvements, later said he was impressed with what had been done to add hangars and to lengthen the runways as a means of attracting prospective new industries.
McClain recognized Dr. Russell Acree: “You have been an extraordinary part of our community and have contributed a lot to economic development.”
According to Lisa Collins, a major accomplishment in 2014 for the Cook County EDC was the completion of an extensive rebranding and marketing campaign. The EDC launched a new website, www.cookcountyedc.com, which features a video on local advantages like the 3,000-acre South Georgia Megasite for industrial growth. The website also touts other Cook County benefits, including a right-to-work state; a certified Work Ready Community; a labor force of 115,000 within a 30-mile radius; skills honed by Georgia’s globally respected Quick Start custom training program, administered through Wiregrass Georgia Technical College at the Workforce Development Center; and the City of Adel’s water capacity of more than 9 million gallons of water daily, and publicly provided electricity.
Discussing continuing the EDC’s momentum, the community stakeholders agreed that Cook County must find even more ways to stand out with intense competition from other communities. The group talked about Cook County’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to economic growth.
Ms. Collins shared a Cook County Workforce Analysis, completed by Georgia Power in December 2014. The analysis shows that Cook County’s total population is expected to grow between 2014 and 2019, from 17,845 to 18,522 (a 0.75 percent annual growth rate).
Other revealing statistics:
• Median household income has been U.S., $51,371; Georgia, $47,125; Cook County, $32,329.
• Percentage of people in poverty – U.S., 15 percent; Georgia, 19.2 percent; Cook County, 27.6 percent.
• As of 2011, only 35.4 percent of Cook County residents work in the county; the rest commute to jobs in other counties.
• The number of workers commuting into the county is 1,922; the number of workers commuting outside the county, 3,255; and the number of workers living and working in the county, 1,782.
The Workforce Analysis lists as Cook County’s assets, Interstate access/logistics location, growing education presence, below average business costs and Cost of Living Index, and above average diversity. According to the Workforce Analysis, Cook County’s opportunities are: Reshape workforce of the future/more targeted approach, and Career Academy. The Workforce Analysis lists as risks/weaknesses:
•Foreclosures ongoing/ housing not supporting growth yet.
• Shortage of high valueadded services. • Below average educational attainment.
• Outmigration.
• “Pipeline of talent does not necessarily match desired target industries.”
The trend is towards more capital intensive, less labor intensive, and more advanced (computerized) manufacturing. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is available to help make sure that the training is available.
The Cook County School System is increasing graduation rates and Wiregrass Georgia is helping train skilled workers, but the problem is that many of these well-educated young people are leaving the community for jobs elsewhere, said Chamber President Jerry Connell. Chamber Chairman Ron Mitchell said Cook High’s graduation rate is beginning to reap the benefits of starting the Pre-K Program 13 years ago.
Superintendent of Schools Lance Heard said Wiregrass Georgia plans to begin teaching specialized classes on campus at CHS next year. That could mean within five to seven years, large Cook County industries if they choose to do so could have mostly local workforces with the skill sets that the companies need, he said.
Discussing transportation issues, Heard said a proposed change in the way that the State allocates the gasoline tax could cost the school system about $420,000 annually on the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The group indicated a planned truck bypass would be a means of improving access for the hauling of goods from industries and for relieving traffic congestion in downtown Adel.
Other site selection factors for new industries cited were: Labor costs, occupancy/construction costs, available buildings, advanced information and communications technology, corporate tax rate (at 6 percent, Georgia’s corporate income tax is lowest in the nation), state and local incentives (discussion was that the EDC should draft an incentives policy and have the local governments approve it), low union profile, and energy availability. Adel City Manager John Flythe said an existing industry is looking at wastewater elimination and other energy costs.
The group also considered quality of life issues, including low crime rate, healthcare, housing costs, ratings of public schools, housing availability, recreation opportunities, colleges and universities in the area, climate, and cultural opportunities.
The group talked about Cook Medical Center’s telemedicine program (which basically involves Skyping with a doctor), a new hospital facility, $2.5 million that has been earmarked in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for a new recreation complex, and the battle to keep Moody Air Force Base open for years to come.
Ms. Collins concluded with a thought-provoking paraphrase from “Alice in Wonderland”: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” The group agreed that similar economic development stakeholder meetings should be held in the near future.
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