Shelley Short, CEO of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, presented the Clark County Quorum Court with a report on economic development activities for the first quarter of 2024.
Short’s PowerPoint presentation included updates on various items spearheaded by the Alliance, Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and Economic Development Corp. of Clark County. In sum, Short reported:
• There was local involvement in the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit.
• Local workforce development continues with the re-introduction of agriculture education at Arkadelphia High School; a proposed Career Center from Henderson State University/Arkansas State University-Three Rivers, likely to be housed at the former Art Annex building off of M.H. Russell Drive; and an ACT WorkKeys site at Henderson.
• There are two continuing projects and two new direct projects, four Requests For Information to the state Economic Development Commission, and three projects were removed from consideration.
• Alumacraft is planning to sell its property, which includes a 70,000-SF facility, on North 10th Street.
• The EDCCC signed a lease with the Clark County Industrial Council to market and manage its properties.
• Discussions continue for a possible transload facility in Gurdon. Short said there will be more to report at this month’s EDCCC meeting.
• The Alliance continues marketing Clark County through social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X. Short said staff has “ramped up” presence on social media, and analytics show increases in engagement.
• The Chamber of Commerce took on 13 new members, 81 renewals and held one ribbon cutting.
• The Blueprint – Small Business Series kicked off in February, and in three meetings there were 11 companies that presented with 23 local business owner participants.
• A career expo held at the fairgrounds drew 160 students from seven school districts. There were 38 local employers to present on job opportunities.
Justices ask about Hostess, Veolia
Justice Zach Bledsoe asked about an influx in job activity at Veolia North America. Short said the hazardous waste treatment plant, in preparation for installing a new thermal treatment kiln, has contractors involved in that process though she couldn’t say publicly how many. Short added that Veolia is hiring “as fast as possible” and anticipates an additional 50-80 new hires in the next six to nine months. James Pruitt, an attending citizen who’s challenging Justice Michael Ankton for the District 2 position in November, asked the court’s permission to answer Bledsoe’s question. The owner of The V Bar & Grill said the project manager has come into his business “a lot” recently and told him that there are between 600-750 contractors tackling the kiln project, which he relayed should take about 15-16 months to complete.
Ankton said he’d heard whispers about Hostess — particularly employment terminations — and asked for details regarding that. Short said she couldn’t speak to a private company’s internal workings, but noted the acquisition by J.M. Smucker Co. “Many times when there is a change in ownership there are different people that are affected,” she said, adding that Hostess remains on par with its agreement with the EDCCC.
EDCCC financial report
In the first quarter of 2024 the tax-funded Economic Development Corp. of Clark County collected $444,784.26 in sales tax receipts, $2,499.99 in rental/lease/other income, and $94,287.30 in interest for a total of $541,571.55.
The EDCCC spent $160,134.94 in operating expenses in the first three months of the year. Breaking that figure down: $153,605.85 in contract/admin/marketing; $913.15 in accounting fees/audit; $300 in legal fees; $4,151.51 in development; $438.58 in utilities; $725.85 in meeting expenses and miscellaneous. The EDCCC had a net income of $381,436.61.
By the end of the first quarter, the EDCCC reports $13,396,789.71 in total assets and $7,586,650.33 in total tax funds available.
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