David Little, the Starkville alderman who co-authorized a pending contract for an outside group to take over retail attraction for the city, said he’s hopeful a transition will lighten the Golden Triangle Development LINK’s responsibilities and allow the entity to focus its specialty – industrial recruitment.
Little and Mayor Parker Wiseman are listed as the authorizing agents behind an upcoming three-year deal with Retail Strategies LLC that would task the Birmingham, Alabama-based group with searching for national retailers to fill parcels.
Although the LINK currently handles retail and industrial development for its clients – the Oktibbeha County Economic Development Authority, the Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau – Little said the move will allow LINK Chief Executive Officer Joe Max Higgins and his staff to focus on developing a new industrial park and bringing significant investments to Oktibbeha County.
“This frees them up and takes away what could be a distraction for them,” Little said. “The industrial piece of the puzzle is what we’ve been missing to really help bolster our tax rolls and provide jobs to our residents. Higgins and his team have a proven track record of success with industrial development and recruitment. Look what they have done in both Lowndes and Clay counties. If we can give them the resources needed to attract industrial development here, I believe they can be successful in Starkville and Oktibbeha County as well.”
Under the proposed terms of the contract, Retail Strategies would provide “pro-active retail recruitment, boots-on-the-ground property analysis” and overall research efforts for the city.
The Greater Starkville Development Partnership was erroneously listed in the contract as one of the three clients instead of the SCVB, which is a subgroup of the Partnership, officials said Monday.
Specifically, the group promises to provide updates to a point of contact chosen by the city, OCEDA and SCVB; survey and catalogue Starkville business districts for future expansion; and identify and target at least 50 retail prospects over the life of the contract.
Its trio of Oktibbeha County clients would pay a combined $37,500 for services until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. The city’s portion would come from a reimbursement it received after the Innovation District failed to become a viable development site.
For the period of Oct. 1 to Feb. 15, 2017, the city would pay $12,500 for the services.
Yearly February-to-February contracts would follow. From 2017-2018, the city would pay $5,000, while OCEDA and SCVB would contribute $10,000 each toward the $25,000 bill. The 2018-2019 price jumps to $35,000, with Starkville paying $15,000 and both OCEDA and SCVB pitching in $10,000 each.
Aldermen will meet at 5:30 p.m. today at City Hall to discuss the contract.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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