The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development (UCED) and The Montgomery Institute (TMI) partnered to provide planning services, technical assistance and training to elected officials, community leaders and WIRED Community College staff from communities and small towns in the West Alabama and East Mississippi WIRED Region (WAEM).  UCED managed the project, provided mentoring to the technical assistance delivered by WIRED staff, and served as the primary point of contact during the contract period.  The deliverables resulting from this project include the following:

• Three WAEM Mayor Network Events
• Six Mississippi WAEM charrettes
• Seven Alabama WAEM charrettes
• Two WAEM YourTown workshops
• Orientation and Training of WAEM WIRED staff through YourTown workshop, inclusion in STDI and WAEM charrettes, mentoring on assigned follow up of implementation projects

The three main objectives of the project included:

1. Provide training and expert support in the delivery of the assets-based illustrative master planning process and methodology that has been developed through YourTown Alabama and the Auburn Urban Studio Small Town Design Initiative (STDI) Program.
2. Identify implementation support needed in WIRED communities, and provide training, mentoring support and guidance to WIRED Community College staff in their technical assistance efforts; and
3. Provide training and support to create a WAEM Mayor network.

The Wilcox County Commission and the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission recognize that Wilcox County has a wealth of natural resources, a strong forest products industry base and a capable workforce, all ingredients for an economic development plan that identifies opportunities and recommends action to support a diverse and sustainable economy.

The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development (UACED) is performing a study to assess the current assets and economic condition of Wilcox County, collect input from its citizens, identify opportunities both for business and industry and outdoor recreation/tourism, and propose strategies and actions which will provide guidance for investments and programming to exploit the County’s potential.

Project Details and Elements

More specifically, the study will accomplish the following:

1. Provide an assessment of Wilcox County’s current approach to economic development and recommendations for supporting the marketing and development of the County
2. Identify and research business and industrial sectors that are a good fit for the County’s assets, in order to position the County for participation in future growth sectors (Green manufacturing and services, as an example)
3. Provide a detailed County Profile, which will include demographics and information on population, housing, industry/business, and workforce, to be used in marketing the County
4. Identify potential sites for business and industry
5. Analyze the current retail market, to identify potential gaps and opportunities for new businesses
6. Devise a plan to enhance and expand outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the County, to serve its citizens, and to encourage tourism into the County, thus expanding economic growth
7. Develop site specific design and recommendations for improving amenities and services at various City and County controlled properties, in order to support expanded outdoor recreational opportunities

Develop recommendations and an action plan to assist City and County decision making in investments and improvements of amenities, facilities and programming.

The overall goal of this project was to take steps towards “Building a Competitive Region in Southwest Alabama.” The work of the University Center for Economic Development (UCED) team addressed all counties in the Alabama-Tombigbee Resource Conservation & Development (ALA-TOM RC&D) Region (Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Washington, and Wilcox). Each county was analyzed by population trends, education levels, unemployment, and underemployment. The nine rural counties that comprise the ALA-TOM RC&D Region were determined to be homogeneous on all four of these indicators. First, population trends were analyzed by comparing census data for each county from the 1990 census, the 2000 census, and 2008 projections. Each county declined in population during the decade with the average declining more than 6 percent while the state grew by 7.2 percent and the nation by 10.2 percent. Second, education levels for each county were compared for adults 25 years and over. Over 32 percent of adults in the region have less than a high school diploma. Only 36 percent of adults in the region have a high school diploma, with only 30 percent in Perry and Wilcox counties. Only 9.5 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to over 24 percent nationally. Third, unemployment data were compared to state and national levels. The deep recession affected everyone. The unemployment rate rose for the State of Alabama from 5.0 percent to 8.8 percent from May 2008 to May 2009. During the same period for the nation, the rise was from 5.8 to 8.8 percent. But for the ALA-TOM RC&D Region, the unemployed rose from an already high 8.8 percent to 15.1 in May 2009 and continued to rise to almost 20 percent for the Region at the zenith. Four, underemployment for each county and the Region was also analyzed. For the entire ALA-TOM RC&D Region, the underemployment rate was over 20 percent, making the available workforce more than double the unemployed . From this overview, the need for greater effort toward economic development from both internal and external resources cannot be overstated.

This daunting review of current and declining status for each county merely confirmed the strong need for short-term tactics, long-term economic strategies, pilot projects, rural models, and practical examples of success. Following this logic, three initiatives were developed toward the goal of economic preparedness.

Initiatives aimed toward this goal include activities in the following categories:

1. Enhancing Regional, County, and City Planning Efforts;
2. Establishing or Improving Economic Development Mechanisms; and
3. Augmenting Workforce Development and Preparedness Activities.

Details of specific initiatives in each of these categories are described in subsequent sections.  These descriptions include the goal or desired outcome for each activity and the planning activities for each.  Included in these descriptions are details of meetings, collaborations, and partnerships formed as well as the outcomes and successes from each activity, the current state of the initiative, and anticipated future developments.  A bulleted summary of the project accomplishments are:

Accomplished Goals:

1. 1. Enhancing Regional, County, and City Planning Efforts

• Establish The Montgomery Institute, Alabama Office
  • City of Monroeville Annexation of Certain Monroe County Properties
  • Input to Monroeville City Five-Year Plan
  • Model for Health Screening for Children in 5 Southwest Alabama Counties
  • Collaboration with the Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission
  • Multi-year Plans/Vision for the City of Linden AL

1. 2. Establishing or Improving Economic Development Mechanisms

• Establish an Economic Development Authority in Monroeville and Monroe County as a Model for Rural Communities
• Collaboration with the Coastal Gateway Economic Regional EDA
• Multi-County Partnerships

1. 3. Augmenting workforce development and preparedness activities

• Extend WIRED grant to support training for citizens in 16 rural west Alabama Counties
  • Plan for Enriching Training for Pulp and Paper Employees in the Region