Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) hosted U.S. Representative Nathaniel Moran (pictured) on August 19th for a regional summit focused on economic development, workforce, and education. Stakeholders from Camp, Franklin, Morris, and Titus Counties attended to discuss community opportunities and challenges. Congressman Moran, joined by members of his staff, emphasized his intention to listen and learn more about the local needs to better represent the region in Washington.
Titus County
Nathan Tafoya, Executive Director of the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation (MPEDC) was first on the agenda. He gave a general overview of the current economic situation in Mount Pleasant. He mentioned several exciting developments that are currently in the works in Mount Pleasant, including Anderson Town Crossing and a new Christus clinic. Tafoya stated that a lack of housing – both multifamily and single family homes – is contributing to the stagnant population of Mount Pleasant. He indicated that the EDC is working to bring more multifamily housing units to the area so that workers have a place to land when they accept positions locally.
“Companies have job openings and qualified people willing to fill those jobs, but there is currently nowhere for these employees to live. Apartment complexes have huge waiting lists. A lack of housing opportunities prevents growth in our whole area,” Tafoya said.
Tafoya also highlighted training partnerships with NTCC that provide Mount Pleasant employers with the specific types of skilled labor they are looking for. As an example, he mentioned the robotics training program at the NTCC Industrial Technology Training Center that teaches students to work on the specific types of robots used by local industry.
“Having the college as a partner is a huge asset to us in economic development. They are very responsive to the needs of our community and actively seek out grant opportunities to help businesses fund training for their workforce,” Tafoya said.
Camp County
Clint Hardeman, Pittsburg City Manager, and Niecy Baum, Pittsburg Community Development Director, gave an update on Pittsburg. They said that a current top priority in their city is to expand the wastewater treatment plan to better accommodate the population. Baum reported that Pittsburg has seen recent growth in new businesses, especially along Highway 271. She echoed Tafoya’s concerns about a lack of housing in Pittsburg and how it prevents workers from relocating to the city.
Baum stated that Pittsburg faces a somewhat unique challenge as it is excluded from the “Opportunity Zone” designation that most other areas in northeast Texas have. Not having that designation takes away certain capital gains and tax incentives for businesses to build in Pittsburg.
Franklin County
Craig Lindholm, City Manager of Mount Vernon, said that Mount Vernon continues to see an influx of new residents from the DFW and the city is strategically planning to develop to accommodate the changing population. They have new development plans for areas both north and south of I-30 that will include new and updated parks, residential development, leisure, entertainment and retail.
“We want to be known as a community that can offer a great quality of life,” Lindholm said.
Bob McFarland, President of the Franklin County Industrial Foundation, further elaborated on economic development in Franklin County. He said that they are working hard to bring a much-needed hotel to Mount Vernon in a location near the new Starbucks. He also highlighted a recent land sale on the north side of I-30 that will bring a new food distribution company to town. He also said that expanding wastewater capacity is also an issue that needs to be addressed.
Ark Tex Council of Governments (ATCOG)
Mary Beth Rudel, Executive Director of ATCOG, gave an overview of the services their organization offers. ATCOG is a voluntary association of municipalities that assists governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. Some examples of their services includes 911 delivery, rural transportation and business financing. Rudel gave some examples of the types of business loans available and the requirements to access special lending programs.
ATCOG serves Anderson, Camp, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Marion, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood counties.
Northeast Texas Community College
Dr. Kevin Rose finished the agenda with an update on the latest happenings at NTCC. He said that the college currently offers around 100 degrees and certificates programs for students to choose from. These include a variety of opportunities focused on high-demand healthcare and workforce/industry fields.
“Our goal at NTCC is to create a pipeline from education to employment. Some students come to us for a very short amount of time and leave NTCC with a micro-credential that gives them a skill to go to work right away. Others may stay longer to pursue an associate degree and even go on to transfer to a university – but the ultimate goal is to prepare them for a career,” Rose said.
In order to best meet the needs of the region, NTCC already has partnerships with numerous area companies including (but not limited to) Local Bounti, Lowe’s, Newly Weds Foods, Priefert, Titus Regional Medical Center, UT Health Pittsburg and Diamond C Trailers.
“We will continue to work closely with our economic development partners to meet the training needs of our community,” Rose said.
The summit concluded with a question-and-answer session with Congressman Moran, allowing attendees to voice their concerns and ideas directly to their representative.
