The Golden Triangle possesses the city with the strongest micropolitan economy in Mississippi and one of the strongest in the U.S., according to a recently published study.
Columbus was ranked 10th out of 576 cities evaluated nationwide by the Florida-based independent economic firm Policom Corporation. Its closest in-state competitors were 17th-ranked Oxford and 71st-ranked Tupelo, both micropolitan cities, and Jackson, which was ranked 92nd in the company’s list of 381 metropolitan areas.
Starkville’s economic ranking amongst national micropolitan cities dropped from 195 to 216 but remained near the upper third of the list.
Policom did not list West Point as a micropolitan city.
The company defines those locations as quasi-rural with an urbanized area, located within one county, with a population of 10,000-50,000.
Twenty-three factors are used to measure areas’ economic behavior, monetary flow, growth and elements that negate growth, including wages, job availability and government welfare dependency.
“It’s good to see Columbus holding on in that top 2 percent of communities,” said Joe Max Higgins, CEO of the Golden Triangle Development LINK, in a release.
His organization is charged with industrial development and enticement in Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties.
“We’re working hard to reverse the trend in Starkville and anticipate that West Point will return to micropolitan range soon with the continued growth to the area brought by Yokohama Tire,” Higgins added. “Our goal would be to have all three of our communities in the top 100 nationally.”
Planned Oktibbeha Co. industrial park scrapped
The LINK’s most recent attempt to make Oktibbeha County a viable home for development hit a snag last month when the organization was forced to abandon a proposed 326-acre industrial park site due to increasing costs associated with making the area shovel-ready for investments.
Then, Higgins said the organization would search for a new site after evidence suggested the location might have been home to Native Americans more than 500 years ago.
At least an additional $1.7 million would have been needed to fully explore and ready the site, on top of the $10 million both Oktibbeha County and Starkville leaders were willing to pitch in for infrastructure improvements. Additional work could have also delayed the park’s opening by at least a year and half.
“We think we’re doing the hard thing here, but we’re also doing the right thing,” Higgins said in March. “The reason you do due diligence is to find out if there is a problem. Quite frankly, this site is more problematic than what we think is worth spending the money on.”
The proposed park, dubbed the Innovation District, would have made Oktibbeha County a viable contender in the world of economic development because its only other formal industrial park, Cornerstone Park, is not seen as an enticing site for investment since its electricity capacity cannot support heavy manufacturing.
Officials previously predicted the 326-acre Innovation District would have provided about 1 million square feet of business space, 1,300 or more jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues depending on the LINK’s ability to attract investors.
Still, progress being made
Last year, Policom President William Fruth urged leaders to establish a new industrial park in Oktibbeha County, one that would tie in with the work and research done at Mississippi State University.
Higgins’ implementation of Fruth’s suggestion was simple: develop a park that could work in connection with the university but remain under local control to help facilitate land deals by bypassing the state College Board.
Since the LINK took over industrial enticement for Oktibbeha County, it has recorded small successes: C Spire constructed a new data center at MSU’s Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, and officials helped facilitate the arrival of a filing products manufacturer to property adjacent to Starkville’s George M. Bryan Airport, among others.
4-County Power Association officials forecast a possible increase in electricity capacity at Cornerstone in 2017.
Fruth also told area representatives last year that the Golden Triangle’s best chance for sustained economic success would be through workforce development initiatives.
Legislators recently approved $10 million toward workforce training efforts at East Mississippi Community College.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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