Elyse Cochran: The importance of Carbondale to the future

DALTON — Let’s face it. This is a difficult time for our community, state and nation in terms of the economy. Local and state governments are hurting — especially school systems across the country. Many of our own are without jobs. This is a sensitive time for all and much is at stake.

In this setting, the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners should be commended for their vision and progressiveness as demonstrated by the purchase of Carbondale. Their number one objective, above all, is to reverse the job-loss trend in Whitfield County.

The Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority (DWCJDA), the agency I work for, is a local organization charged with helping create and retain jobs in Whitfield County and grow its tax base. We are funded by the city of Dalton, Whitfield County and a new private initiative called Grow Greater Dalton. This is the definition of economic development.

Economic development can be accomplished in a number of ways.

First, tourism dollars generate tax revenue and jobs. The local Convention and Visitors Bureau does a great job bringing people into town to spend their money in local hotels, restaurants and retail establishments by promoting local attractions and pushing Dalton as a prime location for meetings and events.

It is amazing. People will drive across the country to see old barns, Civil War sites and beautiful mountains and streams, all of which we have plenty to offer. This is a great source of tax growth in that people exit off I-75, spend their money here and get right back on the interstate to go about their merry way. For these people we don’t have to provide utilities to their homes nor educate their children or grandchildren.

Another way to foster job and wealth creation is to assist existing businesses to help them grow and expand.

The greatest source of new jobs and new investments is through existing businesses.

At each and every national conference or meeting we have attended this year, experts agree the greatest source of new job creation in the next 10 years will be through existing industries and entrepreneurs. Helping existing industries grow may not be as glamorous as the Volkswagen announcement in Chattanooga but those large “mega” projects, such as VW, are few and far between.

The third way to succeed in economic development is to recruit new businesses to come to town. We call these new jobs “primary jobs” and they typically come from the new location of manufacturing plants (or the expansion of existing facilities) or the location of new corporate headquarters or professional services. These jobs are called primary because they tend to be the highest-paying jobs and their presence in any community helps support small businesses and create the demand for more restaurants, printing companies, banks, new housing structures, office supply options, grocery stores and clothing stores.

Believe it or not, there are many companies across the globe that are growing and expanding, even during this challenging recession. The banking crisis has certainly not helped these companies expedite their plans as quickly as we would like to see but companies are “preparing” for better days.

Locally, our office has registered through local Realtors and property owners approximately three million square feet of empty industrial space. Common sense may lead us to question “with this much space, why would Whitfield County need to buy land at Carbondale?”

Here is why.

More than 90 percent of the companies with expansion plans are looking for undeveloped sites to build a building just like they need and want. While we have millions of square feet of empty space, with all due respect, not all of it is desirable. Many of these buildings were constructed as warehouses to store rolls and rolls of carpet. Back in the day buildings with low ceiling heights were suitable and didn’t need to be on tracts of land with very much employee parking. Some of these buildings are extremely suitable, however, and the DWCJDA is working hard to find occupants for them.

The building and site needs of companies today are much different. They are looking for properties that are economical in terms of low-cost utilities, affordably-priced land, have plenty of parking for employees, and close proximity to the interstate for their employees and product distribution needs. Dalton has the low-cost utility factor and logistic qualifications (I-75 and north/south bypass) nailed. We have available buildings. What we didn’t have before Carbondale was a large mass of available property to offer prospective businesses. Privately owned available properties, zoned industrial, were scarce. So in the meantime, Calhoun, Cartersville, Cleveland, Tenn., and Chattanooga have been eating our lunch. Dalton-Whitfield simply could not compete in the global game of economic development until Carbondale.

If we don’t succeed in finding new sources of tax dollars, the burden to provide those services falls solely upon us — you and me as existing taxpayers. Therefore, our community’s success at economic development affects our own pocketbooks through an increase or reduction in property taxes.

Having the Carbondale property to offer to potential industries strengthens our community’s competitive advantage to get our share of jobs for the citizens of our area. You can’t make money if you don’t invest money. We encourage citizens to see the purchase of the Carbondale property as an investment in the future.

Without jobs and a source of “new” income for the future, how can Greater Dalton/Whitfield sustain the quality of life we enjoy today?

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