Crossville and Cumberland County
An
Economic Development
Growth Strategy
Update
A
5-year Development Plan
May 2007
Foreword
The Tennessee Valley Authority selected
The
final workshop was conducted in April of 2004.
The process of compiling the information into an Economic Development
Growth Strategy commenced at that point.
The Economic Development Growth Strategy (EDGS) was developed in order
to provide a comprehensive economic development guide for our cities and county
for the next five year (2005-2009).
A
workshop was held with community leaders on
1. Provide
stronger focus in local education for more technical workforce
skills/development.
2. Improving
the retention and expansion of existing firms.
3. Accommodating
a high population growth rate in appropriate ways.
4. Attraction
of new manufacturing firms compatible with the existing economic base through a
targeted marketing/recruitment program.
5. Expansion
of industrial sites.
6. Increase
local support for small business development and local incubator program.
7. Expansion
of the local retail and customer service base.
The
EDGS, as a formal policy, seeks to build on existing economic strengths, tap
under-utilized human, physical and financial resources, and identify and
ameliorate any duplicate or superfluous constraints on development in order to
improve the local economy. It represents
a coordinated approach, which is sensitive to the needs and concerns of the
private sector and to the community as a whole.
It is also comprehensive in that it attempts to balance economic,
social, and environmental considerations.
In
effect, the Economic Development Growth Strategy attempts to mobilize local
resources in a concerted effort to establish a productive public-private
partnership. Through this effort, the
needs of existing businesses, future business/commercial ventures, and the
citizenry can be achieved.
The
Economic Development Growth Strategy will serve as a guide for economic
progress and involvement. Fine-tuning
and adjustment of the strategy will be necessary as the new data is generated,
as new conditions arise, and as tasks are completed. A strategic management system will also be
promulgated for measuring the effectiveness of the program and assessing the
progress for it.
I.
Introduction
The city has a population of 10,433 according to a
special census conducted in 2006. The
population of
Current Employment Bases:
Industry 1993 1997 2001 2004
|
Agr. Service |
21 |
84 |
46 |
32 |
|
Mining |
112 |
119 |
100 |
152 |
|
Construction |
276 |
499 |
497 |
611 |
|
Manufacturing |
2829 |
2849 |
2833 |
2633 |
|
Transportation |
168 |
277 |
162 |
118 |
|
Wholesale Trade |
271 |
349 |
228 |
224 |
|
Retail Trade |
2772 |
3162 |
2496 |
2502 |
|
Finance, Insurance, Real
Estate |
710 |
878 |
712 |
543 |
|
Services |
2479 |
3463 |
4858 |
4428 |
This graphic and chart emphasizes that
manufacturing, retail trade and services employ more workers than other
industries in
II.
Where Are We?
Inventory of Strengths and
Weaknesses
In
analyzing Crossville and
Year Number
of Manufacturing Employees
2000 2,940
2001 2,620
2002 2,490
2003 2,440
2004 2,380
2005 2,370
2006 2,390
Net loss, past seven years: 550 jobs
Manufacturing Plants that
have closed: Avery Dennison (264 jobs) closed 12-00, Three G’s (70) closed
3-01, Crossville Rubber (280) closed 10-01
NOTE:
Community Attitude Toward
Economic Development:
All
parties’ involved, local governments, private companies and area citizens, seem
to agree that we need to attract new firms which are compatible with our
existing economic base, providing a favorable economic benefit/cost of
government services ratio which will not detract from future economic growth.
Equally
important is the need to retain the jobs we have and encourage local
firms to expand in Crossville and
The need for the creation of new
jobs with the resulting new capital investments and local expenditures for
goods and services is Crossville and
Analysis of Local Resources for
Economic Development:
Although
willingness and desire are prerequisites for a successful development program,
equally important are a community’s economic and locational attributes.
Crossville
and
Locational
factors such as sites, transportation modes, water and sewer capacity,
power, natural gas, fiber optics, and support services are major selling points
for our area.
Human
resources including over 1,820 (Feb 2007) people seeking employment, a
large number of underemployed individuals, a good labor climate and quality
educational and training opportunities add to our competitive edge.
Quality
of workforce can be determined by a mail survey conducted to a sample of
employers and management to ascertain quality of workforce from their perspective.
The results to the question, “What is you assessment of your employees with
respect to their productivity and general attitude” are summarized. About 84 percent of the responding employers
consider their employees’ productivity good or excellent and over 86 percent of
the respondents responded that their employees’ attitude is good to
excellent. It is, thus, apparent that
the current employers are generally satisfied with the quality of their workforce.
Community
factors such as an excellent quality of life, our health care facilities,
financial assets and a cost of living which is 10 – 20% lower than the national
average provide us with ample proof that the area is indeed the place to live
and conduct business.
Specific Advantages of Crossville and
Different types of employers will have varying locational
requirements and will place different degrees of priority on these
factors. Specific advantages are:
1.
Availability
of industrial and commercial sites.
2.
Geographic
proximity to seventy percent of the major markets in the
3.
Location
along Interstate 40, one of the most highly traveled interstates in the
4.
35,000 individuals were provided assistance by
the various departments at the
5.
Among
communities with the lowest cost of living in
6.
Able to draw
on support services from nearby MSA’s (
7.
Five
institutions of higher learning in or near
i.e. The Cumberland County Higher Education
Center, a cooperative effort of
8.
Pro business
attitude of City and County officials.
·
- City of
- Crossville-Cumberland
County Chamber of Commerce – The Chamber’s mission is to promote the
professional organization, the industry it serves and performance of its
members, and to assist members in the safe and successful execution of
operations nationwide and internationally.
- Convention and
Visitor’s Bureau – An association of businesses, individuals and
organizations dedicated to promoting tourism in our community, the CVB and
its members are committed to developing and supporting the tourism
industry by marketing our area to the traveling public.
- Economic
Development Board – As part of the Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of
Commerce, the EDB encourages the acquisition of carefully selected
employers and continues to offer a healthy environment for existing
industry as part of the total and orderly growth of the
- Joint Economic and
Community Development Board – This board, created under PC 1101, is the
coordinating committee for the Three Star Program as well as its purpose
under state law to “foster communication among governmental entities,
industry, and private citizens on economic and community
development.” They are also
responsible for development of the Crossville and Cumberland County
Economic Development Growth Strategy.
- City of
- Crossville
Regional Planning Commission – The CRPC covers all areas within the Urban
Growth Boundary of the City of
- Crossville Housing
Authority – CHA serves low-income families, striving to provide safe and
sanitary housing that is affordable, to promote the economic well-being of
their clients by providing stable housing without discrimination.
- Traffic Planning
Task Force – This task force has been created by Crossville from persons
residing in the areas throughout the County to provide input in
transportation and traffic planning for Crossville.
- Industrial
Development Board – The focus of this board is the issuance of industrial
bonds and approval of payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements.
- Health and
Educational Facilities Board – The focus of this board is the issuance of
bonds for heath-care providers.
Specific Barriers to Growth:
After
reviewing Crossville and
1.
Actual or
perceived deficiencies in shopping and service facilities (example: restaurants)
2.
Lack of a
strong retail magnet (department store) to serve as an anchor for retail trade
business.
3.
Past
inability of community to utilize resources of its institutions of higher
learning and vice versa, to develop programs, provide assistance and solve
problems.
4.
Absence of
skilled labor for high tech companies.
III.
Where Should We Be Going?
Community Desires:
Industries
to be singled out for community development efforts were chosen based on the
following criteria:
1.
Industries
which would provide dependable and long-term sources of employment for local
residents with wages higher than the current average, and create a demand for a
workforce with higher skill levels;
2.
Industries
which manufacture durable goods and products, i.e. automotive supply, manufacturers,
assemblers, and warehouse/distribution;
3.
Industries
with a better-than-average prospect for future growth and expansion as a result
of either a growth in consumer demand or ties to growing regional business.
Economic development and specifically
manufacturing development are fast changing ventures and the need to constantly
evaluate goals is evident.