County presented with Three-Star Award
Saturday September 15, 2007
BRIAN MOSELY
News
from: the Shelbyville Times-Gazette
It was smiles all around as Bedford County once again was formally re-certified as a Level III community Thursday during the Governor's Three-Star Award program in Nashville.
The presentation took place at the two-day Governor's Conference on Economic and Community Development, which was attended by a variety of county and city leaders from Bedford County and across the state.
More than just a plaque or a sign at the city limits, the award recognizes local preparedness for economic development, with communities scored on criteria related to quality of life, industrial recruitment, government cooperation and efficiency, leadership development and more.
Representing the City of Shelbyville were City Manager Ed Craig, Mayor Wallace Cartwright, as well as alderpersons Al Stephenson, Lee Roy Cunningham, Kay Rose and Fred Harrison. Also attending were County Mayor Eugene Ray, Chamber of Commerce Executive Officer Walt Wood, Hershel and Karen Thrasher, Ben Craig and other community leaders.
"This is a great benefit to the community," Ray said Friday. He said by being able to qualify for the Three-Star Award, it lessens the amount of money Bedford County has to match for grants.
"It's also great because it also brings everybody in the community to one table." Ray praised Wood for his work at the Chamber and said the award will help recruit more industry to the community.
Bedford County was the first in the state to receive the basic Three-Star Award in 1993 and the county was upgraded from Level II to Level III last year. The county was also first to be certified under more stringent standards laid down in recent years.
On Wednesday, attendees heard from Tom Oreck, president and CEO of Oreck Corporation, which has been in the household appliance industry for over thirty years. Oreck spoke of what happened to their business in Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina and how they came to relocate in Cookeville and what attracted them to Tennessee.
Craig told the Times-Gazette that aside from the great labor force in that area, another incentive for the firm was a great building that the company could move into.
Thursday was the Governor's Lunch, with Gov. Phil Bredesen telling attendees that rural development will be a major focus of the rest of his second term in office.
The governor stated that Tennessee has launched a tax credit program called the Rural Opportunity Initiative targeting areas like the Cumberland Plateau and the Tennessee River Valley.
In addition to those tax incentives, the state is working with private lenders to create a venture capital pool to spur development and jobs creation. Craig said this can be applied for utility funding for spec buildings to recruit industry.
"Currently, we get these fast track grants, but they have to be for specific, real projects, not speculated or proposed ones," Craig explained. "This new program will help us because we're exploring out of the Joint Economic Development Board what we can do to get a 50,000 square foot spec building here."
Banks are encouraged to participate in the Rural Opportunity Fund through state tax credits. The state initially put $1 million into the fund that now stands at $10 million.
Participants also attended various workshops involving industrial recruitment and becoming informed about economic development in Tennessee. Craig stated that Tennessee is one of the top exporters in the country and the number one county we export to is China.
Craig also said a big aspect of the conference is the networking that takes place between leaders of the different communities represented as well as sponsors and vendors related to economic development.
