Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 19, 1993 TAG: 9303190236
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
UNITED GROWTH URGED
State Sen. Brandon Bell on Thursday proposed consolidating all of the Roanoke Valley's economic development organizations - a plan that was attacked before the day was over.Bell, a Roanoke County Republican, called for support of combining the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership with local governmental development departments. His plan is to "utilize resources much more effectively."
One organization would be better able to address the pressing economic problems that face the valley, he said. More than 3,000 jobs will be lost from layoffs announced in the Roanoke Valley this year.
Bell said one organization is needed to market the region, to set up long-term planning and to follow through "to see that it happens." The current economic development effort is "disjointed," he said, and there is no clear tie or coordination between the marketing and "those who produce the product."
Roanoke County Supervisor Harry Nickens proposed a similar idea in January, but his fellow board members instead turned to a study of ways to improve governmental cooperation.
Criticism of Bell's plan came quickly.
Roanoke City Manager Robert Herbert said separate economic development programs should be preserved because of the different needs of the different communities.
Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, called Bell's plan "an excellent idea if you could work out the funding wrinkles." There's a question "of doability, whether everybody is satisfied with equity in funding," the House of Delegates Democratic leader said.
A locality's proprietary interest in an industry locating in its area would be important. "I'd expect one locality wouldn't want to fund" a company's move to another area, he added.
Bell called for "a single focus on job creation in the Roanoke Valley."
But Beth Doughty, director of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, said her organization is doing that, in cooperation with economic developers in seven localities. Craig, Franklin and Botetourt counties, as well as the Roanoke Valley localities, support the partnership along with corporate members.
Other areas of the state look to the partnership as a model, she said, "and you can't say we are ineffective. . . . There is no duplication of services."
Doughty said she does not disagree with a need for regional strategic planning, "but putting it all together in one organization is a little unwieldy."
Jim Arend, chairman of Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, spoke of a need for "a coalition of organizations and governments to come together to develop a single coordinated planned strategy toward economic development in the valley. . . . We need almost a master plan." He asked for a study of ways to strengthen the partnership.
Arend, a senior vice president of Atlantic Mutual Insurance Cos., said this is an important item on the chamber's agenda, but he sees "no quick fix. A plan everybody can agree with will take time."
Joe Yates, a Salem city planner, said the partnership has done strategic planning in targeting companies. The partnership does more than marketing, he said. The regional agency's job is "to get a prospect's foot on the tarmac at Roanoke Regional Airport," whereupon the local economic developer takes over, he said.
Fuzzy Minnix, chairman of Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, said he thought the partnership is doing "a pretty good job. It's a valleywide effort. . . . We face the possibility of getting splintered if we're not careful."
Minnix asked Bell for more information on his plan: "Who's going to run it and who's going to finance it?"
Economic development "means creating wealth in the community in a variety of ways," Yates said.
Herbert said the partnership's recruitment is complemented by such development groups as Downtown Roanoke Inc., the valley's Visitors and Convention Bureau, Southwest Virginia Community Development Fund and Total Action Against Poverty. None of those duplicates the work of others, the city manager said.
Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr., chairman of Roanoke's Economic Development Commission, said economic development "is a much bigger issue than prospecting. . . . There has got to be more substance for it to work."
Bell did not support a specific form of economic development organization, but he referred to authorities in the coalfields and in Alleghany County and a development corporation at Martinsville.
These agencies have broader financial powers, such as bonding authority and use of funds from local taxes.
The seven-county Coalfields Economic Development Authority in Lebanon uses coal severance tax revenue and coal company contributions in a revolving fund that created 1,700 jobs in 10 projects, said Charles Yates, executive director.
Bell said he will meet with community leaders and use his concept in speaking engagements. He said he wants to build a consensus and he will not dictate to localities. A few members of the business community have supported the idea, he said.