Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CCIC concerned about survival

Survival.

This is what the Clark County Industrial Council is concerned about at this time.

At its January meeting, board members were told the CCIC needs a permanent source of funding  and soon.

CCIC President Brown Hardman said the organization brings in about $60,000 a year, but has been spending approximately $120,000 annually and the reserves are about gone.

"We need a committee to look into permanent funding," he said. "We all get paid when we create new jobs."

Clark County, he told the board, is still viable and can compete with anybody, but people need to know what the CCIC is about.

A 1/8 cent sales tax was suggested as a source of permanent funding, with the possibility of piggy-backing the tax with something else.

Such a sales tax, Hardman said, would generate $300,000 a year. Of this, the CCIC could take $150,000, with the remaining money to be used to help communities in the county improve their physical appearance.

As it stands, the CCIC receives $20,000 each from the city of Arkadelphia, the Clark County Quorum Court and the various banks.

Money from the membership drive barely covers the cost of mailing the members notices on what the CCIC is doing.

Kevin Copeland, executive director of the CCIC, challenged the board to come up with a direction for the CCIC. He said the budget will be examined in February, with alternatives examined.

"The CCIC is worthwhile," Hardman said. "We need to visit other city councils and tell them what the CCIC does."

The CCIC owns the building SGL Technologies is in, along with other land in the Clark County Industrial Park. Hardman questioned what would happen with this property if the CCIC ceased to exist.

In other business, Copeland talked about what happened with the CCIC in 2002.

A lot of time, he said, was spent on getting Arkadelphia recertified as an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE). Gurdon was also recertified in 02, with working done so Clark County would be one of the first to be so recognized on the county level.

The CCIC worked with Entergy and its site consultants, developed a video for prospects and was named an Entergy Team-City Partner.

The CCIC's website also took a lot of time to develop. Now prospects can check the county out via the Internet by visiting www.clarkcountyic.com. The site has received almost 200 hits per day since going on-line.

Working with the local universities, he said, a public relations packet was developed and will be sent to industrial prospects.

"We also tried to stimulate growth from within," Copeland said.

Five groups contacted the CCIC, he said, and it worked to help each one with their needs.

The new Technology and Learning Center will be a boon for the county, and compliment existing industry by developing a quality workforce.

The center, he said, currently offers an associate degree in industrial equipment maintenance. This program was designed by local industries to meet their needs.

There are 32 people enrolled in this two-year program.

The center, he said, will be the future meeting place for the CCIC.

2002 saw the CCIC work closely with Teamwork Arkansas.

According to Copeland, the business park on W.P. Malone Drive will be a showplace and help keep young people in the county. The business park, he said, will focus on knowledge-based businesses, which tend to pay more than standard factories.

A total of 22 prospects inquired about Clark County as a possible location for industry. Of these, 11 were looking for things the county doesn't have.

The county met the preliminary needs of the other 11 and opened dialog with six of them, after sending information to all of the prospects.

Five of the six didn't develop into hot leads, but one paid the county a visit, met with local leaders and toured the area. Clark County was one of two places the industry was looking at, but not the one it chose.

In 2002, Copeland said, a total of eight companies located in Arkansas, and Clark County was unable to meet their needs.

"We're still being aggressive in our marketing," Copeland said, "but our resources are thin. Our money is drying up and we have fewer volunteers."