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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
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Thirty community and industrial officials gathered for a
luncheon last Friday at Hig’s Restaurant in McKenzie to
discuss forming a regional partnership to promote economic
and industrial development for the Tri-County area
consisting of Carroll, Henry and Weakley Counties.
The City of
Dresden hosted the luncheon. Dresden Mayor Danny Forrester
welcomed the mayors, county executives, and other
industrial officials to the meeting which he said was for
the purpose of discussing the possibility of forming the
regional partnership and developing a plan to boost
existing industrial and economic development efforts in
the three county area.
Forrester told the group that he believed that all
three counties could benefit by the regional collective
effort. He also thanked the officials in Carroll and Henry
Counties for their assistance in attempting to locate a
state prison to Weakley County.
Jimmy
Westbrook of Dresden, chairman of a Dresden committee to
promote industrial development, told the group that each
county may not have been doing anything wrong in regard to
industrial recruitment, but noting the lack of recent
success, he said, “We have not been doing something
right either.”
Westbrook said the regional approach would make
each county’s industrial recruitment efforts better
because “we will be stronger working together than we
are working individually as communities and counties.”
In regard to regional partnership proposal,
Westbrook stated, “We need to decide if we want to work
together or go on doing business as usual. I can tell you
that business as usual hasn’t worked.”
Westbrooks
showed the group unemployment figures for the first half
of 2003 for each of three counties and noted that each
county had experience an increase in unemployment while
Tennessee’s unemployment rate as a whole has remained
the same for the first six months of the year.
The figures showed Carroll County’s unemployment
rate increased from 11.8% in January to 12.4% in July.
Henry County’s rate increased from 7.3% to 9.4% and
Weakley County’s rate increased from 6.3% to 9.7%.
Joe Barker
with the Tennessee Department of Ecomomic and Community
Development told the group that Governor Phil Bredesen was
committed to taking a new approach to industrial
recruitment than has been taken in the past. He noted that
part of that approach involved regional partnerships in
the state with special emphasis to be placed on rural
communities all across the state that are being hardest
hit by industrial closings and relocations.
Mike Philpot
with West Tennessee Industrial Association likewise
endorsed the regional partnership concept that was being
discussed. He said there was “great value” in counties
working together to promote a particular region. He said
towns and cities need to put other issues aside such as
the outcome of a football game on Friday night and work
together to bring industry and jobs to the area.
Philpot
encouraged the community leaders to also commit to
spending more time addressing the needs and concerns of
existing industry. He termed existing industry as the
“bread and butter” in regards to the opportunity to
grow new jobs. “If we help them grow and expand,
that’s a great thing,” he stated.
The group also
discussed issues in Tennessee that inhibit the state’s
ability to attract industry. Brad Hurley, Executive
Director of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, said
that high workers compensation insurance rates in
Tennessee are a big factor that he has heard repeatedly
from industry looking at possibly locating in Carroll
County.
Others in the
group agreed that workers compensation rates in Tennessee
have been a factor in whether or not industrial prospects
in the past have decided to locate or expand in their
counties.
After
considerable discuss over various issues affecting
industrial recruitment, the officials decided to mail a
letter to Governor Bredesen and the state econonic
development office informing them of the group’s intent
to launch a regional partnership. They also decided to
meet informally at the annual Governor’s Conference on
Economic and Community Development in early September to
discuss additional plans to launch the partnership.
Following the conference another meeting will be conducted
locally. |
