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Leaders in Gillette and Campbell County WY are expected to unveil a five-year, $1.4 million economic development plan meant to diversify the local economy.
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Business leaders
in Gillette and Campbell County are expected to unveil a five-year, $1.4 million economic development plan meant to diversify the local economy.
The Billings Gazette
The plan is based on research conducted last fall by the Atlanta-based ByrneAllen Corp., which interviewed 132 businesses in the city and county.
It will be released by community business leaders today in an event at Camplex’s Energy Hall. Gov. Dave Freudenthal will be keynote speaker.
"He’s been talking about supporting economic development. It’s exciting, and it just really shows that pact of state and local cooperation," said Susan Bigelow, director of the Campbell County Economic Development Corp.
Bigelow’s agency is issuing the plan to create commercial stability while still supporting the area’s mineral industry. The majority of the money in the plan — $850,000 — will go toward diversification and business recruitment.
"Clearly, at the center you have the mineral industry. We’re looking to attract supplemental industry, companies that work with and depend upon the mineral industry," project director Jeffrey Saylor said.
"What we’re looking for is that second ring out from there, companies like Allwire, companies that bring a lot to the community but also export. … These are the types of companies we want to go after."
The amount of public money that will go toward the project is still questionable, but County Commission Chairman Craig Mader and Mayor Duane Evenson have said they would like to keep public funding for economic development at existing levels. The city and county pledged about $135,000 toward the economic development agency last year.
Private businesses have also promised financial support.
While he would like to see public support for economic development continue, Evenson said he was glad to see private industry lead the way for the plan.
"It’s a timely challenge to the private sector, and I think it’s a good thing that they hired the consultant," Evenson said. "I think it’s a good project for economic development."
A campaign to reach the plan’s $1.4 million goal will conclude in June, when the city and county are finishing their budgets for the next fiscal year. Saylor said the $1.4 million is the minimum being sought for the plan.
"That’s enough to get us in the game — anything beyond that is more marketing dollars, more exposure," he said. "I think Campbell County is a very special community and has the vision for a program like this. I think it’s definitely attainable."
Bigelow said the plan will be a big step for the community to help plan and attract businesses during the next decade.
"We’ve really been working the last several years to get the community in place. Now, we’re really ready for the marketing effort," Bigelow said. "It’s difficult to sell Gillette and really tell someone that a community this size has the infrastructure that we have unless they come and look at it."
Copyright © 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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