The Monticello Economic Development Commission held their July meeting on Wednesday, July 5, at the Monticello Country Club.
Bennie Ryburn, III, called the meeting to order shortly after 12 p.m. The commission members approved the minutes from last month’s meeting and approved the financial statement. Ryburn noted that Searcy and Associates were working to set the commission up with Quick Books.
Monticello saw a $5,000 increase in total funds over this time last year. In June, the city collected $266,000 in sales tax, and Drew County collected $561,000.
“This is a good sign,” Ryburn said. “It means we are selling more.”
Ryburn added that according to the numbers provided by the state, unemployment is currently 3.3 percent. This number is a good sign for the area, as 5-7 percent is the usual unemployment average. The current labor force is 7,287 for Drew County, and 7,041 of those are employed.
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery ticket sales were $461,900 for Drew County, and statewide sales reached $49,000,000.
Nita McDaniel, Director of the MEDC, said that the MEDC is staying busy with prospective businesses. There are a couple that are being moved to inactive status because they have stopped communications.
One prospective business has done a lot of work in town preparing for their opening. They have removed 24 condemned mobile homes from the mobile home park on Cherry Street, and done a lot to clean that space up. This is beneficial to the city in two ways, it brings a new business in, and it cleans up an area of town that being used for nefarious means.
There has been another prospective business that has made several changes to their project, and the MEDC has been working with them to accommodate these changes and continue to meet their needs.
In May, another prospect came on board and was looking for 15,000-30,000 square feet of space. McDaniel said she found a suitable space. The prospective business came to visit and liked the space, as well as the area, and are planning a second visit.
McDaniel added that there have been no updates on the Scogin Drive project. There is activity on U.S. Highway 278 W, but the Arkansas Department of Transportation has not set an official ground breaking date. To complicate this matter, any date that ARDOT sets has to coincide with Delta Regional Authority’s calendar as they are one of the funders of the project. Ryburn and McDaniel both noted that when this project was originally conceived, the cost was roughly $11 million. Through time and increased prices of materials, the project is now projected to cost some where close to $30 million. McDaniels stressed that the cost to the city of Monticello has not increased since their initial $2.1 million investment. She also stressed that these funds did not come from budget line items that would prevent city roads and streets from being repaired as needed.
McDaniel also stated that retail recruitment has stayed busy. She added that there are a good number of retailers who are looking at Monticello/Drew County, and are trying their best to get here. One of the issues that is holding some of these retailer up is finding a space that will accommodate their needs. Most retailers are looking for a space in the 5,000-10,000 square foot range, but in the parts of town they would want to locate, the city only has spaces that are 1,500-2,000 square feet. McDaniel said that this would be a good opportunity for developers and construction companies to build some spaces to meet the needs of potential retail clients.
The historic post office, where the MEDC has traditionally met, is still in need of carpeting. Everything else in the building is looking good, and some organizations and businesses have recently held meetings in the facility as is.
McDaniel then went on to discuss the Ridgeway Apartments. She stated that the rent on the facility is controlled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and rent cannot be raised without HUD’s approval. With the cost of running the Ridgeway increasing, and the rent not increasing to offset these costs there are several issues presenting themselves. McDaniel and Ryburn are currently having the insurance re-quoted after the premium increased 100 percent following a claim. McDaniel suggest that the non-profit look into trying to organize an annual fundraiser to benefit the Ridgeway. There are major projects looming, and if more money doesn’t come in, it will be a major burden to make these repairs.
