Twin Rivers made first point of contact
Development group will be listed with the state to be lead organization in Clarke County
By Barry H. Hendrix Contributing Writer

The Clarke County Commission voted Tuesday to make the Twin Rivers Economic Development Partnership the formal "point of contact" for the county with state development agencies.

The commission also decided Monday to give additional funding to the Twin Rivers agency from lodging tax revenue in the fiscal 2007 budget. The county is giving Twin Rivers a total of $52,000 from the current budget.

The commission held a meeting Monday, which included mayors of Coffeeville, Fulton, Grove Hill, Jackson and Thomasville along with development officials and Twin Rivers board members. The meeting was called to develop the lines of communication between Twin Rivers, city governments and county development officials.

"It's a matter of trust," economic developer Wiley Blankenship said Monday. "If there is no trust here, we have nothing."

Blankenship serves as the president of the Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Authority. Coastal, which represents Conecuh, Escambia and Monroe Counties, hopes to expand their marketing power for development through an association with Twin Rivers, which represents Clarke and Choctaw Counties.

The idea is that the combined effort of the five counties can compete with Baldwin, Mobile or Covington Counties. "In rural Alabama we're very small, very few people, a (small) labor force. We have to sell a greater area to get the attention of folks."

"…The primary thing that we (Coastal) do is market and promote," he said. "In addition to that, we will assist existing industry….To do that, we've have to have a lot of help.

"…The local EDA's (economic development agencies) work the projects." Coastal will find an industrial prospect and will give them possible sites in the area. "It's up to the local point of contact, whether it be in the city or the county, to work the contact. We will assist them."

Coastal can provide document material, put proposals together and provide staff services.

"…You know your culture better than I do," Blankenship said.

If a prospect contacts a municipality, Twin Rivers/Coastal should be contacted. However, "I don't take any of the information to any other communities - even if I know there is a better site - because those folks got the opportunity brought to them." It is best for Blankenship to know about it because the prospect might have contacted another community at the same time. He needs to know how much to stay "out of the way" and "allow the communities to work it out in a competitive manner."

If the prospect decides to not move to that area, Blankenship can then suggest other sites in that region.

Chambers of Commerce are also more important, he said. "We look to the chambers to do lobbying efforts…special (infrastructure) projects. It's not Coastal Gateway's job to go out and develop an industrial park. It is my job to say you might need to consider looking at developing an industrial park.

"We can help you, make recommendations on how much land, where it's located, etc." However, the daily strategy will be developed by the local Industrial Development Board or Chamber of Commerce. "We do value the ideas and leadership coming from the local EDA's and the chambers," he said.

For the Twin Rivers-Coastal Gateway partnership to be effective, Clarke County will have to develop industrial sites and spec buildings to attract industry. "You don't have hardly any optioned property," Blakenship said. "There are incredible sites in Clarke County that we need to go get, and we need to secure them under a long term option.…You can't list it because you don't control it….We're only as good as the product we have to promote."

Blankenship also stressed that prospects also look at the quality of the community, of the education system and retail businesses. The local communities should continue to be involved in "image enhancement," he said.

"We need to quit thinking about dividing lines and look for unifying lines," said Chip Harrigan, Twin Rivers chairman. He stressed how residents in Clarke County benefit from paper mills that exist in surrounding counties. "It's about all of us….If we can get more businesses - even if it's not within Clarke County - get them close - it's going to help."

"The whole purpose was to form an organization that would be above all the political things in both counties and be under one group," said Paul Parham, a Twin Rivers board member.

County Commissioner Rhondel Rhone said Monday's meeting was "a testimony to how far we have come in Clarke County. If we keep this same focus, (it shows) how far we can go."

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