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How the EDA works in Adair Co. By Heather Spoon I've heard about some woefully incorrect assumptions floating around town regarding the money and jobs coming to the Green River Commerce Park, and I would like to take a few moments to explain the process and clear up any confusion. Economic development, especially industrial development, supports job creation; but it also brings so much more to our community, like large amounts of capital investment, i.e dollars. Last week, the Governor's office announced Pennyroyal Barrel Co.'s intent to locate right here in Adair County. PBC will be investing $8.25 MILLION dollars INTO Adair County and obligating to create 10 new jobs, at a minimum, for our citizens, with wages of approximately $18/hr. It seems some people think that the EDA gave money to get jobs. But that couldn't be farther from the truth. The Economic Development Authority did not pay $8.25 million for those 10 jobs. The EDA didn't pay for anything. The EDA worked for everything; mainly to convince PBC that Columbia, Adair County, should be the place that they will invest $8.25 MILLION dollars of their money into our community - to build structures, an amphitheater, and walking trails that will not only be nice for locals to enjoy, but to draw tourists to our area. This means that local contractors will have the opportunity to bid the excavation work, construction, silo renovation, etc. People coming here to work on this construction project will eat at our restaurants, stay in our hotels / Airbnb's, buy fuel at our gas stations, and drop their dollars right here in our community. Because of the nature of the business, tourists will be drawn to our town. On average, people who visit a place like PBC will spend approximately $60 per visitor on merchandise and other products during their visit. So, 10 jobs is only one aspect of this development. When the EDA was contacted about the possibility of PBC being interested in coming to Adair County, I contacted the Cabinet for Economic Development and they immediately assigned me a project manager. Soon, PBC presented their business plan and vision to the Cabinet and to the State Tourism Board. The State of KY offered financial incentives (NOT cash, but in the form of tax credits over a number of years) for PBC to locate in KENTUCKY versus another state. If a company has already decided to call Kentucky "home", then there is no reason for the state to offer incentives to come here, right? This is why development projects cannot be talked about publicly or be announced locally BEFORE the state offers the incentive package. I actually have a call today with a new potential business and a project manager in Frankfort; going through the same process as we did with PBC. Lastly, the EDA must be competitive with other counties so that we have a shot at getting more industry here, thus more jobs. When other counties are offering free land to locate with them, we must consider similar "carrots" to dangle at these business prospects. The EDA has done an excellent job at protecting the interest of the community, while being competitive with surrounding counties by using the concept of a "Ground Lease". This means that the EDA isn't just giving their land away for $1 and hoping that the company that is getting the land is trustworthy and will create jobs. No. The EDA's approach is this: they lease the land to the developer for 10-15 years; in year 3 (three), the developer has the OPTION TO PURCHASE the land for $1, if and only if, performance-based requirements are met. These requirements are jobs and capital investment. This way, the developer is pushing to complete the project, hire the people, etc.; if the developer doesn't hold up their end of the bargain, the EDA still owns the land and it can be put back on the market for future development. If the developer doesn't exercise the option to purchase, but continues the project, then they will continue to pay lease payments for the 10-15 years, depending on the lease agreement term. It is the EDA's job to help these developers in any way we can because we WANT them to exercise the purchase option. Why? Because when they purchase the land for $1, then the deed changes hands to the developer, the PVA assesses the property value (real and tangible), and every taxing jurisdiction begins receiving money via property tax payments. The tax dollars generated for Columbia and Adair County on $8.25 Million is a whole lot more than the $0 that is being received now. I hope this clears up the cloudy areas of a new process to us all, and sheds light on what economic development can do for our community. As the consultant to the EDA, it is an honor to work with a Board that truly has the best interest of our community at heart. By the way, the EDA will be hosting an "Economic Development 101 - Lunch & Learn" for all of our magistrates, city council members, our new superintendent, school board chairman, Lindsey Wilson College and Chamber of Commerce representatives, our Tourism Commission, and the media on Thursday, August 3rd. The more we all know about how to navigate economic development to benefit our community, the better. Please encourage your representatives to attend and learn as much as possible from Brad Thomas, our guest speaker! He is a development guru with Touchstone Energy Cooperative and has offered to speak to our community leaders about the importance of working together, maximizing our natural resources, and telling our story! This story was posted on 2023-07-28 16:27:01
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