News from Boyette Strategic Advisors

Shoals tapped for program Initiative evaluates economic development strategies, resources

Florence, AL – 11/18/2007

An Atlanta consulting firm will evaluate economic development opportunities in the Shoals in 2008 to help determine the types of businesses the area should recruit.

The Shoals is one of three communities selected to participate in the Valley Targeted and Prepared Community Program. The Tennessee Valley Authority-funded initiative, also known as TaP, helps communities evaluate their economic development strategies and resources.

After the assessment, Boyette Levy, an economic development and communication strategy firm, will prepare a report outlining the strengths that should be touted and detailing areas of weakness. The report also will match the assets to the type industries that best suit the area’s skill sets.

“Our community has been successful over the past four or five years with growth, and we’ve reached a point where we need to evaluate where we are and choose to either continue doing the same things or determine another vision so our community can grow and prosper even more,” said Forrest Wright, executive director of the Shoals Economic Development Authority. “We need to find out what our community wants to become and what they want the economic development players in the community to achieve.”

Tennessee Valley Authority officials said the other two communities selected for the program have not been notified, so the sites have not been announced. Eighteen communities in the seven-state TVA region applied for the program.

The Shoals Economic Development Authority put together a presentation and formal application for the program, which included letters from 27 private and public sectors in support.

TVA spokesman Jim Allen said the Shoals was selected by the consulting firm based on community leadership and a commitment to create a strategic plan for economic development.

Allen said officials with Boyette Levy will spend three or four months in the Shoals to evaluate the community as far as strengths, weaknesses, assets and strategies. He said the process will be completed by Oct. 1.

“This will be very beneficial in helping us define what we can do in the future,” said Macke Mauldin, a SEDA board member who is involved in the process. “They will show us how we can control our own destiny by going after the businesses that best fit our community.

“In the past, we’ve had to go after almost every prospect because of our need for more and more jobs. We’ve had success in recent years, and we need to go after the jobs that make the most sense for us. I’m excited about this program because we can’t afford to let up now. We need to look beyond next year to 10, 15 and 20 years down the road.”

Mauldin said forums will be held during the process to allow the public to provide input on where it wants to be in 20 years in terms of job opportunities.

Mauldin praised TVA for putting together the program.

TVA officials started the program in 2006, and four communities were selected to participate, including Cullman.

Peggy Smith, executive director of the Cullman Economic Development Agency, said the evaluation process was a healthy exercise for the community and her organization.

She said the consulting firm met with a “large group of significant stakeholders in economic development – people in health, education, recreation, government, nongovernment, private and public. They asked about the community, how they see it and where they want it to go.”

“They gave us an idea of some of our areas of concern and areas where they thought we need to improve,” Smith said. “They recommended that we increase our acreage (for industrial parks) and also recommended targeted industries that we should pursue.”

Smith said one of the areas identified as being important to Cullman’s future is increased retail offerings. She said it’s an area that her agency has not pursued in the past, opting instead to focus on factories and similar opportunities. She said it’s common for most economic development agencies to focus on industrial recruitment.

For her agency, much effort has since been spent on identifying areas in Cullman that would be suitable for retail growth and finding out what infrastructure needs would have to be met to make the property ready for expansion.

“We’re trying to create an entity within our agency to be responsive to retail,” she said. “We’re trying to get our arms around that now.

“This program was extremely beneficial for us and it’s something we couldn’t have afforded without TVA’s help. It’s always good to take a look at how others from outside your community look at you.”

Wright said the Shoals went through a similar process about 10 years ago, “but it’s time that we take a look at where we are and where we need to go.”‘

Mauldin said the possibilities for economic growth in the Shoals have never been better, especially with a funding mechanism – an increased sales tax collection – now in place to fund economic development.

“What I like most about this program is that we get an evaluation of where we are and a vision of where we want to be 20 years from now,” Mauldin said. “This program will establish guidelines and benchmarks to show how we’re doing.”