Regional economic cooperation a theme at strategic meeting

It’s a new year and perhaps a new age of regional economic development cooperation in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County.

Elected and economic development officials from the localities came together Wednesday at The Club At Ironwood to discuss how area job creation benefits all three jurisdictions. They also heard strategies from a state economic development leader on how to maximize the cooperation and leverage the region’s assets.

When Augusta County Board of Supervisors Chairman Tracy Pyles and new supervisors Marshall Pattie and David Karaffa ran in last fall’s county elections, they spoke of the need for regional economic development efforts and for pooling of resources.

Pyles said the regional efforts are “all about having a vision and people getting along,” and he spoke of creating jobs for “our folks in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County.”

Economic development officials from the localities presented a slide show that displayed local job creation in the past year. The crossover effect was evident in that jobs created in Staunton are filled by employees living in Waynesboro and Augusta County.

Augusta County Economic Development Director Dennis Burnett spoke of joint assets that make the region easier to market. Those include Blue Ridge Community College, Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and the expanding Augusta Health.

“As a region, we have phenomenal health care,” Burnett said. “It is another jewel in our crown.”

The assets and the area’s location along interstates 64 and 81 are important for marketing, said Mike Lehmkuhler, managing director for strategic properties/projects and business development for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Lehmkuhler said he also sensed a different attitude in the region from when he visited a few years ago. He spoke of how it is in “a locality’s best interests to partner with other localities.”

Lehmkuhler showed numerous industrial sites in the Old Dominion that have been developed as a joint project of a county and city. He said that when a major company comes calling, it’s looking for a site and infrastructure that is already developed as well as location. The incentive package also likely would include donated land, he said.

A Toyota plant that Augusta County fell out of contention for six years ago eventually went to Mississippi, where three localities gambled by purchasing $30 million in bonds. While the plant was put on hold when the recession hit, it’s now open and expects to eventually employ 2,000 people.

Pyles said Augusta was unprepared for Toyota. Obstacles included difficult negotiations with a major landowner in the northern part of the county and resistance from residents who did not like the idea of the footprint of a large auto manufacturer.

For future economic development, Pyles said the county needs to have the pieces in place. That development that could impact the region might not be a Toyota-sized operation, he said, but perhaps a 500-employee plant on 500 acres.

The implied message of Wednesday’s presentation was that having the economic development vision means also having patience. The large sites Lehmkuhler showed the audience from across Virginia are being positioned for potential projects or narrowly missing getting other projects.

He also noted that Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County can always make the case for attracting more advanced manufacturing and food processing.