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Industrial recruitment efforts at standstill locally, Arnoti says
July 11, 2003
By
WALLACE McBRIDE
Index-Journal senior staff writer
Philosophical differences are partially responsible for the recent breakdown in economic development activity in Greenwood County, according to the director of a local economic initiative.
Last week, Greenwood County Council took over management of the Greenwood County Economic Alliance.
The alliance was previously under the supervision of the Partnership for a Greater Greenwood County, which shared $4.5 million in funding collected almost four years ago in private donations.
Since last week’s action, economic development has “come to a screeching halt,” said Peter Arnoti, executive director of the Economic Alliance.
The morning after council’s decision, the partnership changed the locks on alliance offices, shutting out Arnoti and his staff.
“I’ve had no access to files, no e-mail, and no contact with (the partnership),” he said.
Arnoti said he has had to conduct recent business with a cellular phone.
“In the last three years we’ve been able to do things we probably couldn’t have done without (the partnership’s) financial support,” he said. “A lot of progress has been made and that needs to continue again as soon as possible.”
“One of the sticking points is obviously who is in the supervisory role of economic development,” County Council Chairman Robbie Templeton said. “We’re just not seeing eye to eye with the partnership on a couple of points and we need to work through that.
“Economic development can have a whole lot of different meanings,” he said. “It can be expanding industry, attracting industry, getting and keeping jobs. It can mean almost anything, depending on who you’re talking to.”
The role of life sciences in Greenwood County’s economic future has also been in dispute, Arnoti said, specifically the economic benefits of biotechnology.
“The biotech industry has grown by over 300 percent,” he said.
“There’s hardly a week goes by where you don’t see a new medical device, new product or new drug. All of that has to be manufactured. We ask ourselves the question, ‘Why can’t that be manufactured in Greenwood?’”
“Greenwood’s roots are in manufacturing, so you still have to look for manufacturing jobs,” Templeton said. “At the same time, biotechnology jobs are the wave of the future. We’re trying to prepare ourselves for when that comes.”
“Biotech is the thing of the future, but short term we need some more traditional industry,” said Richard Briere, chairman of the partnership’s board of directors. “We need to make sure the industry we have stays here. We need to understand their needs and to make sure we fulfill their needs.”
“For people who are currently unemployed, biotechnology is not the solution for tomorrow,” Briere said.
The partnership recently proposed structural changes that included a pair of new positions in economic development.
A chief executive officer position would have been added to the partnership, Briere said, while a project manager position would have been added to the alliance roster.
“The proposed organization for the partnership is to have a CEO with extensive economic development experience,” Briere said. “As well as a project manager, someone who would be looking through the bushes to find industry to bring here.”
County Council is currently considering a proposal from the partnership to extend its relationship with the alliance on a contractual basis.
Should that proposal be rejected, Templeton said, the county has plans to proceed alone in developing industry.
These plans include office space for Arnoti and his staff, he said.
“There are plans in place, and we’re ready to hit the ground running,” Templeton said.
Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at 943-2518 or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com
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