Effort underway to create regional development alliance

When Paul Harvel was president of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce he was instrumental in creating the Metropolitan Little Rock Alliance.

The alliance was and continues to be a regional collection of economic development players that speak with one voice when recruiting and retaining jobs in central Arkansas. There is the more than 1,000 jobs Hewlett Packard will locate in Conway for an example of the alliance’s success.

Harvel, working with Rob Ratley and others, is hoping to pull together a similar alliance for the Fort Smith region. Although the chamber does not have all the partners together, an alliance would likely cover Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties in Arkansas, and LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma.

The Regional Economic Development Alliance “is one of the top four goals of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber” according to Ratley, Arkansas manager for Oklahoma City-based OG&E and head of the chamber’s economic development division. Ratley said the Feb. 16 Compass Conference — a joint project of the chamber and The City Wire — helped bring together several regional players. Following the conference, Arkansas Economic Development Commission Director Maria Haley was able to meet with several chamber and city officials in the Fort Smith region.

“The recent Compass Conference was a huge success with the majority of our regional chambers in attendance. AEDC Director Maria Haley’s address on Regionalism could not have been more timely and inspiring,” Ratley noted. “Director Haley had a follow up meeting with our regional guests in the Holiday Inn board room and expressed how the state was even utilizing the same model in promoting Arkansas as part of the Southern Region and has plans to  work closely with our adjoining states, which bodes well for Fort Smith being a border community and LeFlore and Sequoyah Counties in Oklahoma being a vital part of the region.”

Ratley said the goal of the alliance is to “give each community a shared voice and equal representation of two votes regardless of population. The establishment of trust, communication, cooperation, and mutual respect is vital to our success. The final structure and name will be determined by a consensus of the group.”

Site selectors looking to locate new operations don’t care about city or county boundaries, Ratley said. He said company execs reviewing options on where to move jobs or retain jobs look at the larger pros and cons of a region. Those regions able to provide a clear and cohesive message have an advantage in the economic development game.

“So far the reception we are getting from our economic development partners has been overwhelming and everyone recognizes the value and benefit of working together,” Ratley said. “This is a very exciting time due to the spirit of teamwork that is taking shape throughout our area and we are confident this effort will be successful as a result. Thanks to everyone for their interest and involvement.”

The effort to conduct regional economic development already has a success story. City and chamber officials from Van Buren and Fort Smith worked together to locate in Van Buren an expanding operation of Houston-based Oxane Materials. The company will initially invest $15 million in the plant and hire up to 50 by summer 2010. Expansion plans “anticipated through 2014” could bring an additional $32 million investment and total employment of 300. The facility is located on Industrial Park Road in Van Buren near the corporate headquarters of USA Truck Inc.

Harvel is expected to provide an update on the alliance effort during the chamber’s First Friday Breakfast scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m., Mar. 5, at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.