County and economic development officials of Kentucky’s four western river counties are collaborating to develop a regional economic development initiative driven by the Panama Canal expansion. The expansion, which is set complete next month, is expected to significantly increase container shipping along the Mississippi River.
At a focus group in Fulton Thursday, area stakeholders discussed development projects needed to make the Mississippi river counties of Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, and Ballard a hub for river traffic. Some projects mentioned were the completion of the Interstate 69 corridor and bridge, developing the Hickman Harbor Riverport for container shipping, expanding reliable broadband access, consolidating electricity providers, creating greater access to entrepreneurship investments, and creating higher-paying jobs.
The counties are splitting the $84,000 cost of aCivicPoint study on regional economic development that addresses infrastructure, education, health and human services, agriculture, tourism, industries, economic development, financing, regional collaboration, and a regional vision for the future.
CivicPoint’s Jonathan Miller facilitated the focus group meetings in each county. He says this initiative will take intense community involvement for several years in order to succeed.
“I’m not bringing the agenda. The agenda is going to come from the ground up. The idea here is that they share here both orally and on paper. But the goal is that we’ve got this opportunity with the Panama Canal widening, let’s do whatever we can to use that as a spur for economic development in the region,” Miller said.
Executive director of Fulton-Hickman County Economic Development Partnership Wendy Puckett says the collaboration will elevate the regional voice and help the counties overcome shared barriers to economic development.
“There’s, obviously, different directors for each county. We want to make sure we maintain our flavor and our assets that could be contributing to the group. But yes, being able to regionalize and market based on the Mississippi River is huge because it’s a very unique trait,” Puckett said.
There was also discussion regarding state recognition of river county needs.
“I think it’s extremely important that we look at and remember the real west Kentucky, which is, in my mind, you've got to get to the Pennyrile (Parkway) and get past the Pennyrile to get to west Kentucky…. When you’ve got the populations that we have and the demands from a rural standpoint, and travel and all of those things, we have to work twice as hard to make sure that we’re recognized from a county standpoint,” said Chris Wooldridge, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Murray State .
A priority of the initiative is to develop a multi-county port authority at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in Wickliffe to capitalize on the expected increase in river traffic. Members of the initiative plan to hold a public summit this fall to adopt a strategic plan and establish implementation groups. They aim to set a long-term strategy the following fall.
