VALDOSTA — In partnership with Georgia Power, Janus Economics recently completed its comprehensive community assessment of Lowndes County. Much of the data focuses on economic development and provides solutions to the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority on ways it can improve its public image and relationship with local governments.

During a two-day visit to Lowndes County, two consultants from Janus toured the area and conducted confidential interviews and focus groups with elected officials, business owners, city/county employees and other stakeholders.

Certain statistics provide a sobering look at future growth for the county. According to the report, approximately 25 percent of students will not graduate high school. The report recommends that soft-skills training and continuing support of the Five Start Program will be important to increase graduation rates. Technical job training should also be emphasized to help graduate students who are not on the university track.

Some of the statistics may appear more obvious to members of the community, like the lack of high-paying jobs to retain the Valdosta State University graduate population.

“This was like an airplane view of Valdosta and Lowndes County,” said Andrea Schruijer, Industrial Authority executive director. “People knew these things. I don’t think there were any surprises in there. We’ve already got some of the people making good efforts, like with the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce and their S.O.R.T. (Special Ombudsman Response Team) committee.”

Much of the presentation focused on public relations between the Industrial Authority and the community. During the biomass project, the Authority closed off social media outlets and there is not a strategy in place for how those avenues should be used.

It is suggested that the Industrial Authority develop an internal communications strategy and create a relationship with local media outlets to provide more coverage for economic development.

Many of the interviewees said the fallout from the biomass project left some citizens with a negative image of economic development and the Industrial Authority, according to the presentation.

Authority personnel are encouraged to celebrate all accomplishments, both large and small.

Most interviewees       believed that Lowndes County was a great community with proper amenities and potential for future growth. As a result of the rift caused by the biomass project, it will be important for the community to “create fresh partnerships, build and implement a strong vision for economic development and create an honest, transparent environment where everyone participates in creating jobs and improving the quality of life.”

Another area that needs work is the relationship between city and county governments and organizations focused on economic development.

“We’re trying to work through some of the city and county zoning conflicts,” said Schruijer. “These are things that we already recognized so now we’ve got to find out how we’re going to address those things. We did just get the assessment last week.”

Total employment is currently at 62,502, which is a 5.7 percent decrease from peak employment in 2008 with 66,255 jobs. According to the report, the “Great Recession” really did not impact steep job losses until 2009, a year later than most other parts of the country.

Wages for jobs are still below the state and national averages. The median hourly earnings for Lowndes County is $13.96, compared with $16.78 for the state and $17.57 for the nation.

Job growth for accommodation and food services is at 39 percent, health care and social assistance has grown 35 percent. Other areas like real estate, government, waste management & redemption services, retail trade, arts, entertainment, recreation, information and educational services have also seen significant increases in job growth in the last eight years.

Although 7,808 people commute into Lowndes County from other counties for work, almost as many, 6,681 leave the county for work. While regional job growth has only grown by 1 percent, or 639 jobs, job growth for Lowndes County has jumped by 5,000 jobs since 2002.

Job growth will continue to be negatively impacted if the community is seen as unfriendly towards businesses.

Strengths to build on include VSU and Moody Air Force Base, which are the two largest employers, along with South Georgia Medical Center which serves as the medical hub for much of South Georgia. The expected expansion of the medical college in conjunction with SGMC will bring further strength to the area.

Downtown Valdosta was also highlighted by the assessment firm as an area that should see continued growth.

Many interviewees also stated that Wiregrass Georgia Technical College has improved significantly in the last five years and has the ability to develop and implement a course within six months of identifying a workforce training need. Location will also provide further growth given Lowndes’ position on Interstate 75 and relative proximity to I-10.

Most interviewees believed that the standard of living was high in Lowndes County and activities like golf, amusement parks, outdoor recreation, theatre, art centers and VSU provide a number of entertainment outlets for citizens. The assessment recommends increases in tourism for the area, to increase over-night stays from regional visitors.

“We are the marketing arm for Valdosta-Lowndes County,” said Schruijer. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re exceeding those expectations. One of those things will be developing a strategic-planning process and visioning process so we do know where we are all going and that we all agree on what the vision should be for our community’s economic development.”

A complete pdf download of the community assessment presentation is available for download at www.industrialauthority.com.

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