Clay County and West Point leaders Tuesday were effusive in their praise for the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link, as the entities signed a joint economic agreement at the Ritz Conference Center in downtown West Point.
In January, the Link agreed to represent the West Point-Clay County Growth Alliance and hire someone under the Link umbrella to specifically recruit industry for West Point and Clay County. The Growth Alliance will pay the Link $350,000 annually for the next three years for its services.
Though the signing ceremony was quick, the road to fruition began in 2006 with the formation of the Growth Alliance, West Point Mayor Scott Ross said.
The area was dealt a heavy blow in 2007, when nearly 1,200 people lost their jobs after the closure of Sara Lee, formerly the Bryan Foods meat processing plant.
City and county officials tried to bring in new industries, but they couldn’t seem to regain momentum. People needed work, and West Point and Clay County needed hope.
So they turned to Link CEO Joe Max Higgins, whom Link Board President Jim McAlexander referred to Tuesday as “the Tasmanian devil of economic development.”
The statement was met with nodding heads and laughter by the crowd of around 200 people, but Ross didn’t mince words: “I thank all of you for being here today for what I believe is perhaps the single most important event in the history of West Point and Clay County.”
Clay County District 2 Supervisor Luke Lummus and Growth Alliance Board President Jackie Edwards were equally ebullient, with Lummus calling the signing “a historical moment,” and 66-year-old Edwards noting the signing party was one of the most exciting days in her life.
Erasing boundaries
Though some in Lowndes County have questioned the Link’s loyalties in taking on West Point’s and Clay County’s industrial recruitment, officials from both counties said the agreement is mutually beneficial, allowing both counties to grow stronger and collectively pool their resources to sell their unique individual assets.
The economies of both counties are intertwined, with each having a vested interest in the other’s success, McAlexander said. Boundary lines may separate Lowndes and Clay counties on a map, but economic development knows no bounds.
“When there’s a ripple effect, whether it started in Columbus or it started in West Point, it comes across boundary lines; we don’t use them as barriers,” he said. “It takes a region to make economic development work to its maximum potential.”
And the conjoining may be just the beginning. Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President and District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders said it’s possible they may someday include Monroe or Lamar counties in the agreement.
“It’s the best thing for the whole area,” Sanders said.
Controversy over the possibility of an entwined relationship between West Point and Columbus has existed for decades, he noted. Years ago, when Sanders’ father was president of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, there was discord from both Columbus and West Point officials over whether to build the Highway 50 bridge, because they feared competition from one another.
This time, it was a unanimous decision to work together for the betterment of all.
Walking on water
It will be a whole different experience for those unfamiliar with Higgins’ extreme intensity, drive and “second equals last” mantra.
McAlexander tried to warn the Link’s newest partners.
“You better hold on, West Point and Clay County,” McAlexander said. “You’re getting ready to take a ride.”
But Higgins was notably low-key in his presentation, being careful to make no concrete promises other than to say he believes West Point is well-positioned to attract a $100 million-plus industrial project, within the next three years.
The West Point-Clay County team was initially nervous about paying the Link so much money to represent them, Higgins said, but the Link staff was equally wary.
“How would you like to be the other side of the table that says, ‘Give us a million dollars and we’ll walk on water?'” Higgins asked. “Pretty tough. But what we committed to do is this: We’ll do it the only way we know. We’re going to go after it hard; we’re going to go after it fast; we’re going to find out what we do well; we’re going to exploit it. Those things we don’t do so well, we’re just not going to talk about those.”
Exploiting assets
The first step begins immediately with the nationwide search for Clay County’s and West Point’s Link representative, whom Higgins intends to bring onboard by July 1.
The next step is creating a certified Tennessee Valley Authority megasite. TVA created the Megasites Program in 2004, initially to attract large automotive industries, but over the years, the program has evolved to create sites suitable for all types of large-scale manufacturing.
Paccar and Severstal are both TVA-certified megasites.
But there’s a caveat to this megasite: The Link wants to handle its entire development, which will be funded by the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority.
Once the megasite is complete, TVA will create a three-dimensional master plan and video to use as a marketing tool.
“All of those things that make us special, we’re going to exploit,” Higgins said. “We’re going to do everything we can to try to bring somebody on that site that will be a major employer.”
Retired Clay County Chancery Clerk Robbie Robinson said he is a firm believer in regional cooperation, and he supports this joint venture.
“I am confident it’s going to work,” Robinson said. “I know Joe Max Higgins.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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