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Backpedaling on one of its recommendations to prevent the appearance of a political power struggle, the Task Force on Economic Development appointed by Mayor Nancy Denson decided last week not to tell Athens-Clarke commissioners they can’t serve on a future economic development board. 

Task force members had previously agreed with Economic Development Foundation President Peggy Chapman that an elected official would sooner or later have a conflict of interest on such a board in matters like property purchases or confidentiality.  But last Thursday the task force dropped that recommendation.  “It’s been whipped up into an us-against-them kind of thing,” task force member Alex Patterson said.  Board members cited comments by Commissioner Mike Hamby and other, unnamed commissioners, and Athens Banner-Herald columns—the task force is telling commissioners “We’re just not that into you,” said one—as evidence of a controversy they feared could sink the recommendations. They struck the offending sentence from the 29-page draft report, but may warn commissioners of the possible conflicts of interest.  

The task force’s report—which commissioners will discuss at a Sept. 11 work session—basically recommends reconstituting  the existing EDF as the “Economic Development Center” with a five-member board.  The smaller board is needed, the task force decided, to maintain the confidentiality that companies insist upon as they consider locating or expanding here.  It will not just seek new industries, but also strive to develop healthcare, bioscience and medical devices, alternative energy, agribusiness, retirement services, “creative” businesses like music and film, and tourism.  Hiring the right, proactive CEO for the center is critical, since Chapman was hired out of retirement and will serve only until July.   

ACC needs to spend more on economic development to match other, similar cities, task force members say.  Chapman suggested $500,000 in funding for the center. Last year the EDF received  $310,000, and other county agencies spent a similar total amount for economic development.  But the task force proposes a property tax increase that would raise far more than that: a half-mill hike that would raise nearly $1.6 million annually (and add about $25 to a typical homeowner’s bill, says Tax Commissioner Mitch Schrader).    The task force doesn’t specify how all that money would be spent, provided commissioners are willing to raise the tax rate. “They’re not going to do it,” one task force member predicted.  “We’ve not said that it needs to be spent specifically on A, B, C and D,” said task force chairman Grant Tribble. He told Flagpole some could go to tax incentives for new industry.  The report says money is needed to purchase land or construct buildings to attract potential new businesses, expand existing ones, or provide “micro-loans” to small businesses, the group’s draft report says.   “That’s our problem here,” complained task force member Bobby Heath.  “You’re supposed to write a business plan and then fund it,” not vice versa.   

Because other public and private agencies are also involved in economic development, those groups would form a council to coordinate with the Economic Development Center. 

Other task force recommendations will include creating an “ombudsman” position within the ACC government to help businesses navigate government requirements, which some task force members say are too stringent, take too long and cost too much.   Specifically, the task force recommends looser parking and sidewalk requirements in industrial zones:  “(T)here is little reason to promote pedestrian access to manufacturing facilities,” says the report.   It also suggests hiring an “industry steward” to build ongoing relationships with current and potential industries. 

The report proposes reconsidering “one-size-fits-all” requirements for storefront windows in retail stores and building-size requirements that are designed to increase development density.  “Not all buildings and businesses are compatible with mixed-use occupancy,” it says.  And it suggests sending conceptual “planned developments” straight to commission so it can vote them down “if the proposal is a non-starter no matter what the developer does.”   It also recommends working toward multi-county cooperation in economic development.

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