It seems that there’s always talk by local officials, politicians, and business leaders about economic development, but Dare’s Board of Commissioners is poised to next week take an important step forward toward growing and diversifying the county’s economy.
At the board’s Jan. 4 meeting, North Carolina State University’s Office of Outreach & Engagement presented a proposal for an economic diversification plan, which seemed to be well received by the commissioners.
The plan would be developed over the course of the year by N.C. State, along with RTI, an international research institute, and Economic Leadership, LLC, an economic development consulting firm, both based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. It would cost the county $58,640 with $14,660 due on signing in January and the remainder in payments in April, July, and October.
At the end of the presentation by two of the NC State staff members and after very little discussion, Commissioner Jack Shea made a motion to accept the proposal. It was immediately seconded by three other commissioners — Warren Judge, Wally Overman, and Margarette Umphlett.
At that point, county manager Bobby Outten informed the commissioners that new legislation requires that the board have a public hearing before spending public money on economic development projects.
The board will have the public hearing during its meeting at 5 p.m. next Tuesday, Jan. 19.
The reason that there wasn’t much discussion before Shea made his motion is probably because the subject of growing and diversifying the economy is one that has been frequently discussed at board meetings, especially in the past year.
Shea was asked last year by board Chairman Bob Woodard to lead the county’s most recent foray into economic development. Shea said before the presentation last week that he and county financial manager Dave Clawson have been meeting with various groups and individuals to discuss “if and how we can improve the economy in Dare County.”
Woodard added that he and the county manager have also been involved in meetings, especially with the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce and officials from Currituck County, which has an economic development office.
Last November, the Chamber released an “Economic Development and Sustainability White Paper,” which urged the county to take action.
“It is the opinion of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce that we need to look closer at economic development in Dare County and consciously consider a plan for economic development and sustainability. The plan needs to take into consideration the uniqueness of our community and our niche market with a goal of private sector investment.”
This week, Karen Brown, said the plan being considered by the county is one the Chamber can support.
“Economic development is not a choice but rather a necessity,” the White Paper says.
Brown notes that the Chamber prefers “economic sustainability” to the term “economic development,” which, she says, can make folks think about “smokestacks and high rises.”
N.C. State refers to it as “economic diversification.”
Whatever you call it, it’s clear that local officials, trade groups, business owners, and residents think it’s time to grow the Dare economy — as Brown says to identify new industries for the county while working with the county’s biggest asset, which all agree is water.
She also notes the county must create “career path jobs so our young people have a good reason to stay here.”
We would all agree that during the summer months of June, July, and August, Dare County has about all the business it can handle. However, the tourism economy must be strengthened to extend past just the summer months — at least into the shoulder seasons of spring and fall and probably year-round.
The county unemployment rate of about 4 percent in the summer skyrockets to as high as 15 percent in the winter months. On Hatteras Island, most of the businesses, especially the restaurants, are closed down tightly until Easter.
The tourism economy provides many seasonal service jobs that leave too many workers struggling to survive the winter. An economic development plan must also address the high cost of living in the county — especially the cost of housing.
“What I like about this (N.C. State) proposal,” Shea said at last week’s board meeting, is that it addresses not only diversification, but also addresses optimizing the existing pillars of our economy — tourism, fishing, and construction.”
Shea also noted that the proposed plan is not a “museum piece” but a “living, breathing” way forward.
The presenters from N.C. State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement — Dan Parks, associate executive director, and Rex Raiford, northeast regional manager — stressed the same point.
Parks called the plan “visionary and practical” and not an “academic endeavor.” The plan, he said, develops a “high-return strategy” not one that “will collapse of its own weight” and “sit on a shelf somewhere.”
The proposal breaks the specific work into three tasks:
- Scan the current economic landscape. RTI will summarize the current landscape so that all leaders and stakeholders are grounded in a common understanding of Dare County’s economy before developing a strategy.
- Develop an asset inventory. Community assets will include schools, community colleges, key employers, key government organizations, business incubators, and chambers of commerce.
- Document best practices for diversifying coastal communities. RTI will identify three tourism-centric coastal communities that have successfully diversified into other sectors. Once the communities are identified, RTI will speak with each to better understand its strategy for diversification and reasons why its strategy worked.
N.C. State’s proposal would gather information from community “ideation” sessions, interviews with economic development and community leaders, and web-based surveys that will reach broad cross-sections of citizens and other stakeholders in the county.
The proposal includes drafting a written action plan for going forward with economic development and how it will be handled by the county — such as with a county economic development office or a public-private partnership of some sort.
Parks and Raiford said that implementation is where most economic development plans fail and to avoid that for Dare County, the N.C. State team will stay with the county for six months of plan execution.
An economic development or sustainability or diversification plan is long overdue in the eyes of many in the county.
However, as the N.C. State team notes, we can’t afford to pay for it and let it sit on a shelf.
We must all be involved — residents, workers, retirees, property owners, business owners, elected officials, members of trade organizations — if it’s going to work.
And, interestingly, the N.C. State presenters made a point of saying they intended to keep everyone involved.
“We want the citizens to understand as much as any citizen wants to” about the plan, they said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Click here to read the Economic Diversification Plan proposed by N.C. State University Office of Outreach & Engagement.
Click here to see a presentation of the plan from the Jan. 4 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
Click here to read the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce’s “Economic Development & Sustainability White Paper.”
