Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotary hears of county plan

Gurdon needs an economic boost and the Clark County Strategic Planning Committee could be the way to make it happen.

Dr. Alan Wright, professor at Henderson State University, told members of Rotary the strategic committee is like nothing thats been tried in the past.

Wright said the idea for the strategic planning committee arose over a casual conversation. He said the basis of the conversation was that the county seems stagnant. Bank deposits, enrollment at the universities and the statewide loss of many manufacturing facilities over the past few years indicates a chronic lack of growth.

The question of What should be done? has been discussed before, so several people started looking for a different approach. That quest prompted the beginning of the strategic planning committee.

Were not just looking at big factories, Wright said.

He said the proof that this program is different is evident in a number of ways. First, more than 400 people have shown up to meetings. Next, 97 percent of those asked to take a leadership role in the program agreed. Wright said another important point is that theres an outside facilitator in charge, and the money to pay for that service has already been secured.

Why an outside facilitator?

Wright said that person has the option - and the ability - to take an objective look at the overall situation. He can also make observations that would likely ruffle feathers coming from an insider, Wright said.

Another important point of the program is the county-wide focus. He said other ideas usually centered around a single place or idea, but reminded Rotarians that we live in a global economy. He said the only way for the county to grow and compete is to work together.

Wright said the larger program is being guided by suggestions and ideas of the smaller groups. Those groups are based on education, healthcare, tourism, housing and leadership.

Were just waiting for information to filter up, Wright said.

When the floor was opened to questions, Al Brown said, We need to put some life back into Gurdon.

Several members agreed and pointed to the amount of money thats spent in other counties simply because those areas have larger retail districts. Wright said the term for that is retail leakage, and agreed that its a major issue.

Wright said there are many opportunities for growth in the county and said one committee had come up with some 15 local possibilities that could be used to promote the Gurdon area.

We have no excuses, Billy Tarpley said.

He said its the responsibility of those who want to see the county grow and prosper to develop the vision to make it happen.

For more information about the strategic committee, check out the website at www.clarkcountyplan.com.