Transcript Document

UNC Center for
Competitive Economies (C3E)
Chatham County:
Economic Development Strategic Plan
Jason Jolley,
Senior Research Director
Adjunct Assistant Professor
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Project Background
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Three incoming Chatham County commissioners approached
C3E to gain a better understanding of the local economy.
A part of our public service mission, C3E conducted four
workshops with incoming commissioners and community
leaders, concluding with a SWOT analysis.
On April 1, 2007 the Chatham County Board of Commissioner
contracted with the UNC Center for Competitive Economies
to create an economic development strategic plan for
Chatham County.
The Chatham County Economic Development Corporation
was charged with facilitating the planning effort.
1.
Task One: Community Engagement
2.
Task Two: Economic Development Scan
3.
Task Three: Comprehensive Workforce Inventory
4.
Task Four: Targeted Industry Cluster
Characterization
5.
Task Five: Existing Industry Needs/Opportunities
Assessment
6.
Task Six: Comparable Communities Assessment
7.
Task Seven: Economic Development Vision Plan
8.
Task Eight: Economic Development Organization
Optimization
Our Objectives:
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To construct a community supported economic
development plan.
To redefine Chatham’s competitive position within
the RTP/Triad regions
To identify existing industry/business needs and
opportunities.
To accurately inventory Chatham’s labor force.
To refocus industrial development on high value
companies paying higher wages
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Economic Development
Deliverables
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Expansion prospects from among existing Chatham
County companies;
RTP area growth companies targeted for location of
production activities and company-level descriptions of the
Piedmont Triad and RTRP industry clusters most
appropriate for Chatham County;
Specific company prospects outside of North Carolina for
targeting;
Market-articulated infrastructure needs and priorities list;
Entrepreneurial economy assessment;
Workforce asset inventory; and
Recommendation of strategic economic development
organization and management restructuring.
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Community Engagement
Blending the diverse community
preferences of Chatham County citizens
with an objective assessment of the
County’s economic development options
Community Engagement
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Blending economic analysis with community values:
 Five community meetings were held to kick-start
the planning effort.
 Two-day economic summit was held at the
planning mid-point.
 Five person working group of the EDC Board.
 20 person Economic Development Strategic
Planning Task Force.
 Two final community meetings to present plan
 Presentation to joint meeting of County, Towns,
and EDC Boards.
Community Engagement
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Over 1600 volunteer hours from the citizens of
Chatham County formed the backbone of this
project and provided community oriented
context to our research in developing this
strategic plan.
Chatham County’s
Challenges
Chatham County…
 is becoming a bedroom community of the Triangle region and
residents commute outside the county to work.
 jobs are concentrated in low skilled, low wage industries.
 is experiencing a growing wage gap between the wages of
Chatham County jobs and the NC average.
 leaks a large percentage of its retail sales and sales tax to
neighboring counties.
 has geographic, cultural, and economic divide between eastern
(Pittsboro) and western (Siler City) Chatham.
The County’s historic ad hoc economic development and planning
approaches were insufficient to address these challenges.
Weekly Wage 2006 1st Quarter
$1,200.00
$1,136
$1,000.00
$830
$800.00
$767
$722
$627
$600.00
$744
$683
$556
$557
$400.00
$200.00
N
or
th
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$0.00
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
$0
-$20,000
-$40,000
-$60,000
Unclassified
establishments
Other Services
Ex. Public
Accommodation
and Food
Arts
Entertainment
Health Care and
Social
Educational
Services
Administrative
and Waste
Management of
Companies and
Professional
and Technical
Real Estate and
Rental and
Finance and
Insurance
Information
Transportation
and
Retail Trade
Wholesale
Trade
Manufacturing
Construction
Mining
Agriculture
Forestry
Total Private
Industry
Chatham’s Low Wage Structure
Chatham/NC Wage Variance
$20,000
Chatham wages as a percentage of US and NC average
% of NC AWW
% of US AWW
90.0%
85.0%
80.0%
75.0%
70.0%
65.0%
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Percent of Workers Commuting Outside of County of
Residence 2000
60.0%
55.3%
50.0%
42.4%
41.3%
40.0%
28.4%
30.0%
25.1%
26.4%
25.1%
19.5%
20.0%
12.2%
10.0%
0.0%
Chatham
Alamance
Durham
Guilford
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Lee
Orange
Randolph
Wake
North
Carolina
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Census
Tract #
202
206
204
203
Census Tract Name
Description
N Central Chatham
Small town
S Central Chatham
micropolitan
area
Siler metro
Siler rural
Small town
Small town
Commute
level
Destination
low
small urban
cluster
low
large urban
cluster
internal
small urban
cluster
high
small urban
cluster
SW Chatham/Bear
205 Creek
Small town
high
small urban
cluster
207
E Chatham
metropolitan
area
high
urban area
NE Chatham
metropolitan
area
high
urban area
Pittsboro
metropolitan
area
high
urban area
201
208
Source: US Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
In County Jobs
Jobs of Residents (located
anywhere)
Labor
Difference
Agriculture
431
676
245
Mining
52
13
(39)
Utilities
3
118
115
Construction
1,016
2,930
1,914
Manufacturing
5,367
5,291
(76)
Wholesale trade
454
741
287
Retail trade
1,893
2,965
1,072
Transportation
323
729
406
Information
62
615
553
Finance
200
1,010
810
Real estate
73
435
362
Science/Tech
541
2,050
1,509
Administration
487
721
234
Education
1,479
4,059
2,580
Health care
2,247
4,670
2,423
Arts
287
375
88
Hospitality
929
1,529
600
Misc. Services
389
1,409
1,020
Public Admin
809
1,038
229
Retail Sales Leakage
(2004-2005 in millions)
Chatham
Leaked
Captured in Outside
County
County
Total
Leakage
Rate
TOTAL
$1,236
$448
$788
64%
Apparel
$29
$2
$27
92%
Automotive
$146
$74
$72
49%
Food
$222
$134
$88
40%
$44
$28
$16
36%
General
merchandise
$292
$110
$182
62%
Lumber and
building material
$131
$44
$86
66%
Unclassified
$329
$41
$287
87%
Furniture
Retail Sales
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Approximately 64 cents of every retail
dollar spent by Chatham County
residents is spent outside the county.
Results in about $7.7 million in lost local
sales tax revenue.
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Organization of
Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
4.
Economic Development Focus Areas
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Attraction, Retention, Entrepreneurship
Quality of Place
Infrastructure
Economic Development Reorganization
1) Economic Development
Focus Areas
Attraction
Retention
Entrepreneurship
Focus areas are not mutually exclusive
Attraction
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21 potential clusters
ED Strategy Task Force
preferences for growth
potential, wages, &
employment prospects
narrowed list to six
targeted clusters
Seventh cluster,
renewable energy,
emerged from citizen
preferences.
1.
Architectural and
engineering services
2.
Technical and research
services
3.
Basic health services
4.
Pharmaceuticals
5.
Information services
6.
Higher education and
hospitals
7.
Renewable energy
Triangle: Attraction Clusters
Triad: Attraction Clusters
Chatham: Attraction Clusters
Targeted “Growth Companies”
Many of the firms in these targeted clusters that favor Chatham
are younger, locally-based “growth companies”
Single locations and small headquarters
 not subsidiaries/branch plants but independently owned,
entrepreneurial firms.
Smaller but growing
 modest scale, between 25 to 50 employees, in facilities from
25,000 to 40,000 square feet
Higher value added
 firms poised for expansion, posting high revenues per
employee ratios, particularly given their modest facility scale
Production Location for
RTP/Triad Companies
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Chatham County is not receiving its share of RTP/Triad
relocations.
Chatham County’s manufacturing heritage and strong
community college training programs make it an ideal
location for production facilities.
Chatham offers a competitive advantage in cost and
labor relative to other “non-core” RTP counties.
Actively market the County’s Central Carolina
Business Campus in Siler City and other suitable
properties for location of production facilities
identified in the targeted industry cluster analysis.
Mid-tech Research Park
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Prior Center studies demonstrated the potential for a mid-tech
research park in the southern RTP region. Chatham was
among the counties identified in this study.
A multi-county collaborative agreement is in place for the
Northern RTP region (Kerr-Tar Hub).
Such companies may desire a closer proximity to the RTP
market than the Central Carolina Business Campus in Siler
City can provide. Northeast Chatham has the existing
workforce to support such a park.
Explore the development of an RTP branded mid-tech
park to attract footloose, mid-tech companies desiring
location in the RTP region.
Vision for the Future
Chatham County’s strategic location between
the Triad and Research Triangle regions
positions it as the preferred location for
emerging-growth companies.
How to you get there?
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Move away from ad hoc economic development
and planning. Adopt a policy-driven approach to
addressing these problems.
Recast the EDC as a credible, apolitical advocate
for and facilitator of economic development.
Adopt and implement the economic development
strategic plan.
Benefits of University
Engagement
C3E Research Team
Brent Lane, Principal Investigator
Jason Jolley, Co-Principal Investigator
Lukas Brun, Senior Research Associate/MPA Student
Research Team:
Sara Abdoulayi, Planning/MBA
Caroline Cunningham, Planning
LeRae Davis, Planning
Lindsey Davis, MPA
Allan Freyer, OEBD
Alison Gillette, Planning
Erin Gray, Undergraduate
Mari Howe, Planning
Will Lambe, SOG
Nora Lenahan, Planning
Ben Mauk, OEBD
Tina Prevatte, Planning/MBA
Eugene Watkins, MBA
Jared Wiener, Planning
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise
Academic & Professional
Outcomes
Master’s Projects:
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Lukas Brun (Public Administration ’09): “Including Stakeholders
Preferences in Cluster Analysis”
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LeRae Davis (Planning ‘08): "Beyond Fiscal Impact: Economic
Benefits of Residential Development"
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Mari's Howe (Planning ‘08): "A High Road Community Economic
Development Strategy for Rural Communities: A Case Study of
Sustainable Agriculture in Chatham County, North Carolina“
Research Papers in Progress:
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“Economic Development Planning in Bedroom Communities”
(revise and resubmit), Popular Government.
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“Incorporating Community Values into Industry Cluster Analysis” (in
progress)
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“Defining a Renewable Energy Cluster” (in progress)
Career Opportunities:
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Mari Howe (DCRP ’08) hired as new Research and Innovation
Manager for Chatham County Economic Development Corporation
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E)
Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise