Taylor County Jobs
naturecoastboy wants to start the following discussion:
How about a blog just to debate job growth. Someone already mentioned that we have industrial sites, the county had one and one by the Caterpillar building, for future industry here.
So this will be a general blog about job growth, or lack there of, in Taylor County.
How about a blog just to debate job growth. Someone already mentioned that we have industrial sites, the county had one and one by the Caterpillar building, for future industry here.
So this will be a general blog about job growth, or lack there of, in Taylor County.
We all have concerns for jobs and futures for our kids. We have a development authority and we have beat them up for not getting good jobs here. But they are fighting against other states/counties that are giving "BIG" incentives to get those same jobs. What can I do to help? We are having a "70s" Decade reunion this year in Oct. I'll make it a priority to pass the word that each one of us should join in to bring jobs "back home" to Perry. This may be a small step but it beats doing nothing but complaining. What can you do even if it seems small?
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Here's an interesting read:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/07/28/going.home.ap/index.html
It's about folks who want to get out of the big cities and into smaller towns where the quality of life is better.
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I agree with this stand-alone blog. If you've read some of my previous posts relative to this topic you will see that I believe we have an ineffectual and incompetent do-nothing development authority. In the many years this group has been funded I can't think of a SINGLE job this bunch has created or brought here. Maybe somebody can correct me. Please. not the Lance-Tom's thing it was already here and going for years.The TCDA had nothing to do with Lance locating here.
Mr. Rick Breer is the "manager" of this group but it is not his fault alone that they remain impotent. It is his managers. I ask the questions again! Who evaluates this group? who approves the funding? Who has oversight? What is the criteria? What are the goals. What are the systems that the TCDA uses? How can we change this lack-luster performance? We need skilled personnel in this group - not just somebody that mouths a good game and supports a resolution for every hair-brained - Rube Goldberg scheme that comes along.
I suggest you contact Jack Brown - some of you may not like him but he has a good head on his shoulders and will act when sufficient interest is shown.
Jobs and industry are the life blood of this community and we are getting neither with the present officials or current configuration of the Taylor County Development Authority.
We as a group can make the changes - it is up to us. Our little system is broken and people and the community are hurting. If you think the current system will suddenly explode with activity - you are kidding yourself. Change has got to come and it comes from the people. Call the TCDA - call Jack Brown, call the county commission, it is an election year and they will most certainly take your calls or respond to your emails.
Jack Brown will most certainly tell you that I am one of the most difficult people he has ever met but he responds with professionalism to any questions or comments that I submit to him and there has been plenty of them. Start at the top - things have languished for too long - our little community has to come together.
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Of course the TCDA is fighting and competing with other entities. The other entities have a plan - an incentive plan - what does the TCDA have? They wait around the telephone for someone to call. Nobody is going to call if we don't exist. The chamber does more than these deadbeats (TCDA).
Read my other posts concerning the TCDA for some of the things they can do to attract good jobs to the county.
They can cold call instead of sitting on their dead ass for 100 jobs to walk through the door!
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This sounds like a great idea. Hope folks give constructive ideas and not just whining and crying about what isn't. Also, what kinds of jobs they want/expect. Don't dwell on the past, or might have been, look to the future and don't destroy what we have, both can work together. Jobs and preservation.
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We need our Elected Officials, and our appointed officials to have some new ideas. Buckeye produces power from pine trees, we have pine trees, why not partner with them and build a larger generator, and produce power for our county. Why don't we build a wind farm on the coast on some of that state land? Why don't we send a delegation from our county to Brazil to look at their ethenol production facilities, we can grow lots of sugar cane in the bay. I know these are lofty ideas, and will cost quite a bit of money and sound impossible, but 50 years ago our city would never have thought they'd have a waste water treatment plant, think out of the box. With these green ideas come green jobs that would pay our citizens well. Our federal government gives out all sorts of grants for research and development, and possibly while persuing these ideas we'll run across something better for our situation. As I said these are ideas, but at least it would be some sort of hope for the future, and we wouldn't have to woo some cooporation with tax incentives we can't afford. Of course that's another problem inaccountablity, I know we all pay taxes, and that's a lot of money but where do the fines, license fees, court costs ect. go. As I said plenty of problems no solutions offered.
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as ethanol requires a 51-cents a gallon subsidy (which is $28 a barrel) just to compete with $113 a barrel oil, there's little prospect that the Saudis are afraid of the competition. The ethanol lobby generates far more power in Washington than it does on the nation's highways. Compared to Saudi oil, its energy production remains a drop in the barrel.
And a mighty expensive drop, too!
Staple food crops such as soybeans, sugar and corn are being produced not to feed humans but to fuel cars, trucks and now even airplanes. As a result, the price of food has been soaring; for example, corn prices went from under $2 per bushel in 2005 to $6 in 2008 and rising. But despite the ethanol boom, petroleum prices remain high and energy consumers are no more secure than they were before.
Meanwhile, by diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices and endangering the hungry. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Harvests are being plucked to fuel our cars instead of ourselves.
The claim that ethanol production is good for the environment is misleading for a number of reasons. First, transporting ethanol is costlier and requires more energy than transporting other fuels. Ethanol must be transported by petroleum-using trucks, barges, and railroads, because any moisture in the pipelines will contaminate the ethanol and make it virtually useless. Second, planting corn requires farmers to use a number of pesticides and fertilizers that harm the environment. 1995 Nobel Laureate P.J. Crutzen concluded that the nitrous oxide emitted from biofuel production contributes as much or more to global warming than the cooling caused by fossil fuel reduction. Third, the proposed mandate would lead to greatly expanded ethanol production; consequently, more acreage would be shifted to corn--either by clearing forestland or by converting farmland previously used to grow products like soybeans or wheat.The first option would damage the environment through deforestation; the second would push food prices even higher.
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Not corn based, sugar cane, easier to make, makes more energy. The big corporate farms with money to buy politicans are the reason we are based on corn. Besides that there's been research into turning black liquor that is produced at buckeye into ethanol. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that statistics are like expert witnesses, they say what you pay them to say. As I said I don't have the answers, but we need somebody with some questions at least to run our county,nothing is being done right now except spend spend spend, for nothing nothing nothing.
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I agree with you, we need to think out of the box. Buckeye actually does have plans for producing more power and providing back to the grid, but they're just plans right now. One of the main problems I see in the Taylor County job market is very few jobs for people with a college education. I know our education system isn't great, but there are a fair number of students going to college who can't find a job in Taylor County when they graduate. If you don't want to work at Buckeye there's not much here for college graduates. I don't think there's a nice way to put it, but we are forcing the brightest people out of our community year after year. I still think the coal plant would have been great for bringing new high paying jobs to Perry. Another problem I see is that a lot of the business owners and other higher salary employees are living in Tallahassee and commuting to Perry for work. They are taking money straight out of Taylor County and spending it in other areas. That hurts our local economy twofold. I don't say I blame them for living elsewhere, Perry is not the greatest place to live and it's getting worse. Too many people are used to the way things are and are closed minded to change.
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I've never served on anything like the TCDA before, so I really don't know how one goes about trying to proactively attract new businesses. Obviously we have to have a plan in place for businesses who express an interest in the county (possible tax incentives, inexpensive land, a willing labor force), but beyond that TCDA has to go out and solicit businesses. Let them know what Taylor County has to offer, because they probably have never heard of us.
In the mean time, though, we have to prepare the county for outside entities. We have to show potential new employers that we don't have a good ol' boy system in place that would be detrimental to them as outsiders. We have to have an educated, drug-free, reliable labor force. We must, as a community, convey that we can balance environmental concerns with economic realities.
Frankly, I'm not sure we've got our act together yet in this regard--and this hurts our competitiveness with other counties that are wanting to win those businesses. And these are things that, to a large degree, are outside of the control of TCDA.
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I agree that we need to get something or someone together to help look for other industry and other companies to come to Perry. We can also put our support behind Buckeye in the Power, Green Power endeavor that they are considering. This would be a boost to our community as well as our to our county coffers. What can I do to help? If you have a idea please send it out. No matter what people say about our Home here we are the ones that have to make the difference.
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I believe a program with individuals contacting the TCDA, Jack Brown and the county commission to make their thoughts known might light a fire under their ass. We have to have leadership in the TCDA and the administrator's office. Our county needs jobs - everything else comes from jobs. We have many problems but our county's economy is the key. We should be beating down the door and contacting all green related manufacturers.
The TCDA has to be restructured, a vision statement (a real one) created, a new marketing plan created (the current one is not working, obviously)and be extremely proactive. So we have to contact 1000 companies - the nature of statistics and large numbers will bring us one or two new industries to the county.
We can't stand back any longer and allow incompetency and lackluster performance from our tax dollar funded groups to continue.
The enemy is us - we've expected poor performance from government for too long and we've not been disappointed. We have to raise our standards and so do the people whose salary we pay.
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Unless I'm totally misunderstanding the organizational structure of TCDA, the County Administrator doesn't have anything to do with it. TCDA works more *with* the city and county than *under* them.
I went to TCDA's website to see who the current board members are (the board is always comprised of city council members and county commissioners). It looks like the info on the site is old, though, and thus inaccurate.
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The TCDA web site is very old, many links don't work and it looks like something an 8th grader created 5 years ago. Our most powerful tool (the Internet) is not being used in an effective manner - this speaks volumes about the TCDA leadership and management. It indicates a total lack of basic understanding of using the available resources.
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This organization has always been trouble, always a place to put someone to draw a salary. I remember when the local leaders (business people, doctors, lawyers, ect.) would find out about opportunities and do all they could to bring them here. That's how Maryland Electronics got here, and I think Martin also. Our old leaders would work with our state and federal elected leaders to get grants and tax exemptions for new Business. I remember when Toms came here, how Joe Burns, Bishop Clark, Jr., Vince Dirubbio and many others worked to get them here. We need some leadership, not just salary drawers.
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I sure hope this means you will join the TCDA! Every time they advertise vacancies, they say no one ever applies. Then they get the incumbent to re-up or someone who has been on the board in the past. The mayor and the chairman of the county commission are ad hoc members.
The director said he has a business background, not economic development. He also says they only respond to large industry, not "retail" businesses. (He gets a $200 bonus for new jobs)
You really should attend a meeting to get an idea of how this volunteer group works. I agree with the post who said we need to light a fire under our county/city officials about jobs. TCDA needs to be attracting good, clean jobs with benefits and future advancement opportunities.
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Who hired this director? Why would you hire someone with the wrong background. Rick Breer has been the Director twice, before and after Buddy Humphries. TCDA run the same way each time. One reason regular people don't volunteer for these positions is that they rarely get appointed and if they do, they are rarely listened to. For that matter if the same people have been on the board for many years, then we should just do away with this money pit. Not a very big pit but a drain on limited funds. Lets cut this position, and authority and use it to make up for the tax shortfall. I don't really think anyone will miss it except for Mr. Breer.
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You might be interested to look back at some that have applied for the directors position. There have been several marketeers I will call them that weren't hired because "they were not the right person for the job". The 2 I am thinking of have moved on and did very well marketing the companies they worked for. They just were not good old boys. Rick, although a nice guy, is as dry as a popcorn poop and I can't imagine him motivating anyone to come here.
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Breer has no skills in marketing. He has moved from job to job ( whatever public trough is availale to get the snout into.
How he or anyone with a performance related job is retained is beyond comprehension?
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As I said it's just another position for someone connected to draw a salary. Remember several years back, when the director of main street perry was arrested for paying herself a salary, perhaps she was wrong in the way this was handled, but if she didn't deserve a salary, neither does Rick Breer.
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The TCDA is classified as a "Special District" and legally is a taxing authority like the water management distrcit. The TCDA Board is composed of individuals appointed by the county commission and a few members representing the local governmental entities. The appointed individual members are local individuals and most have served for too long. What they need is new blood and a new "manager".
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Don't you people get it ? Taylor County has a reputation of anti growth ? We had one hell of a chance at a lot of jobs in Magnolia Bay....It was opposed....The same with the power plant....Nobody wants to come here because they know it is an uphill fight to get any progress...
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T-Mac - Buckeye fought for years to prevent new business from coming to the county. The reason?... competition for workers. If you're the only game in town then you can pretty much treat the labor force to suit you needs. P&G was and is a powerful multi-national and in the day did a good job of keeping Taylor a company town. It is not the tree-huggers or others - P&G started this effort over 40 years ago.
One of the main reasons folks find coming here difficult is that the county seems disorganized with its "plan, incentives, education system and leadership".
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Hey this was on CNN today. An old oil man T. Boone Pickins, has a plan for our country. I think everyone here should check out his website, www.pickensplan.com the town he talks about in the begining of the plan sounds very familiar. These are good ideas on this site from someone who can make things happen. We could use someone like this in our county.
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Yep. sure can!! A billionaire with millions of dollars to throw around....Dr. Pruitt was willing to spend some money also in our community and look what the people of our county did to him...He was willing to spend a lot of money here and the eco-wackos tried to shut him down...
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I believe everyone will be surprised at how many people a golf course will bring here. Older retired folks who want to fish and escape central Florida. Yeah we'll eventually be like central florida, in spite of some folks digging in their heels. It may take some time but everything changes, people in south and central florida that were born and raised in the small towns fought change also. Those that adapted moved ahead with the community, those that couldn't or wouldn't were left behind, but the change came anyway. Some of it good, some of it bad, surely we can find a way to welcome good change, while weeding out the bad. No one group can have everything their way all the time. Dr. Pruitt is an old hand a these types of developments, he knows change is coming here, now or later, he'll have all he wants one day, maybe if we would work with him we could have a show place of preservation and conservation, we have to work with the changes, to have any input about them. Like I said before I don't have any answers, but we sure do need some help around here.
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So since Steven Alford had millions of dollars to throw around we should have knelt down and kissed his feet and sang "God Bless America" because we needed a bombing range so bad. I don't think money is that important. Do your research. "Money Doesn't Matter 2 Nite" by Prince. Your better off making sure your soul is alright. Don't let dollar signs blind you........
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Please remember who took Alford's money without checking him out one little bit. Most of the service organizations, Rotary etc.. the county, individuals, Don Curtis (running for the legislature)
Mr. Curtis was an outspoken advocate of bombing a great deal of the beautiful 98 west forest and coast into the stone age. He worked for Alford - was the crook's point man. The Forestry Company put signs in people's yards supporting this assault against the county.
I don't believe Curtis has our natural resources or our concerns in mind - he has a very poor environmental record as well as a personal record of flip-flopping on many important issues. The best government money can buy. Other folks were screaming "we need a bombing range" like Rick Breer - the manager of the development authority. How pathetic - wanting to destroy the beauty of the county for a few loads of pine trees and the hope of jobs? What job? Four security guards protecting the gates into the dangerous bombing range. I don't know about any of you guys but I am sick to death with politicians, most of the the county officials (elected and appointed). It is a sickness - with the taxpayer and average person getting lied to and screwed in the process. I feel so helpless that these nitwits are killing us with their incompetence.
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Poor pooor pitiful you...Do we complain or do we go out and be proactive ? I attend most every county commission meeting, school board meetings and city council meetings...I hear lots of people complain but I never see anyone being proactive...
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To reply to "I hear lots of people complain but I never "SEE" anyone being proactive"......Remember what you said, "A billionaire with millions of dollars to throw around". I think you are blinded by all the wrong green stuff. Its "GREEN" as in the environment that is really important, not money. "Wisdom can make a blind man see"
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I see that you didn't disagree with anything in my post. It is not poor pitiful me, it is the young kids and adults starting families that have to live in this backwards place that suffers.
Passively attending meetings will get you nothing. I don't see you up there getting in their faces for being so damn
incompetent.
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I am a recent school employee and am apalled at the news that was given to me today. Since we as a school district laid off numerous people, why are we going out of field and finding people that never worked in the system for a OPS (parttime)position. I thought the school policy was to hire and advertise before a position is closed. Since I checked the website today, there was no part time maintanance man position there. I know of at least 2 laid off employees that would have taken this job. How can the powers that be say that things are going to be fair when all you have to do is take and call in a few favors over a fishing trip to get something done. Thanks for your answers to this problem.
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I agree a bombing range would not have been a great idea to bring new industry to our community. However, there should be something out there that can bring jobs into Taylor County. Businesses are closing - Pounceys, The Chaparrel Restaurant, and I understand CDI recently closed. Our community leaders need to step up to the plate and find industries that are willing to come to Taylor County and help our economy.
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We have no leaders, we have no thinkers (except bad ones)we have no management. The enemy is us, we allow this to continue, we do nothing about it. Folks are apparently rewarded for not doing their jobs, for not leading, for not managing. The TCDA management needs to be booted out and someone, anyone be placed in the position.
We need to look into the laws and relief available when government officials perform their duties in an imcompetent manner. Malfeasance is a good start. T-Mac is a good researcher and thinker - maybe he can take this project.
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Now, praytell wy would an industry want to come to Perry?? Imagine 1500 workers descending upon Taylor County to build the coal plant...We do not have enough restaurants to handle such a descent...No industry wants to locate here..They know they face an uphill battle to do so...
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So, we give up and let the bureaucrats let us twist slowly in the wind.
Exactly my point - it takes leadership and cooperation. We have no leadership -the boat is adrift and the people are apathetic.
There are a lot of industries that would come assuming they ever heard of the place (hello TCDA) - I can think of several green companies that need fabrication skills. This county has fabrication skills, welding and assembly skills.
We don't not have the leadership to think outside the box.
And you're a doom sayer saying everything is an uphill battle so why even try?
And get off the coal plant - that's dead - we need to move on to green power in a big way, we need to move quickly.
We can support Buckeye in their conversion to green.
There're grants available - employee training funds, sales tax exemptions, salary coop arrangements, we have a super airport, a good technical school.
We got everything but good thinkers or good leadership. Perry and Taylor County are a rural - low income -high unemployment designated area.
Certains areas of the county are in the Florida Enterprise Zone. We can apply for duty free- or tax free designation which would draw business to the area.
We have all the tools we need and more, we just don't have the people to assemble our many benefits, resources and assets into a cohesive package and market it, not next door but to the world.
The county's grant writing department seems to be fixated on bridges, coast-line, sports and boat ramps when they should be concentrating on economy and jobs creation grants.
Put me in charge, I can fix it in 18 months.
Here's a free one: the county goes into the power generation business using wood to fire the boilers. Tallahassee uses messy and heavy bunker oil to fire their generators. We could be on the leading edge. This would put the forest based companies back to work. The price of wood would go up as Buckeye now has a competitor for Taylor wood chips.
The county would essentially have free electricity, it would create jobs and the county would have a revenue stream selling the power to me and you.
No more TEC or "Progress Energy".
There is no doubt in my mind that subsidies, grants and forgiveable loans are available to us for this task.
It would have little or no effect on taxpayer money. Again - we don't have adequate leadership to put all this together. Yes, it is complicated - that's why we have to get started.
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Subsidies, grants and forgivable loans...here we go again with the government fixing everything... Why can anyone not be entrepreneurial enough to do this on their own ? We must have the government pay for it and all for free...Thats why we have idiotic tax rates..Now don't get me wrong I am all for green power, it is just common knowledge that we are still on the birthing edge of such..Have you ever been to Texas ? Flat open area where windfarms can be openly placed..What are we to do ? Clear large areas of Forest just to place windfarms ?? Not a common sense applicable thing to do here. Now yes, we can manufacture them and ship them to Texas if need be but correct me if I am wrong but didn't United Welding sell their business to a competitor in Texas ? We could build the wind mills here but they have their plant in Texas to do such. Now, back in the day, a community leader like the late Bobby Sayers, he would already be building them at RDS and have a plan in work...You see Community leaders within our County like Mr. Sayers, the late Joe P. Burns have all passed on. This is why our economy is in such a fix today...The liberals are cutting our own throats and like T. Boone Pickens said the largest transfer of wealth in Mankind is occuring today. We should have built the coal plant...1500 coal jobs is better than jobs disappearing...and not having any...We should be pushing for oil platforms off our coast...Might be nice to have a few high dollar rigs with employees off our coast and their families residing within Taylor County contributing to the tax base...Don't get me wrong "Blind" If you have a feasible plan post it...I am open for anything because I am tired of seeing our community dry up and wither away...
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T-Mac you got to keep it real or people will stop listening to you.
The government is not doing anything - all we want is our money back from taxes to put it to good use instead of bailing out big business. How about the billions in corporate welfare that businesses receive without even asking?
The banks and lending institutions come to mind right now. Bail-outs to huge irresponsible corporations. Where is their spirit?
The United States is a welfare state -corporate welfare, think crop insurance, ethanol subsidy, crop allotments, bank bailouts, the list is endless.
Get off the coal - it is dead, dead and dead! There was never 1500 jobs at stake - more like 150 at the outside. You misplaced the decimal point.
Talking about mankind transferring wealth - how about transferring some to Taylor County?
Instead of critizing everything - how about making some useful suggestions.
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There would have been 1500 employees here for a year to eighteen months handling the building the plant...That in turn would have kept places like Pounceys open and who knows what else. The lines would have been endless at the Grocery stores as these men would be buying groceries. Small family owned stores like the Fair Store would be busy selling workboots and Bluejeans...Gas stations would be pumping gas which means these same workers would be buying sodas and tobacco products...I am keeping it real, it is a trickle down effect...The 150 jobs would be the final employees hired to work within the plant. Now would 150 permanent jobs be better than the dwindling jobs we have now ??
I am against taxes personally and believe the fair tax should be instituted.
Crop insurance, ethanol subsidy, crop allotments, bank bailouts, in my mind are all a waste. Our society has become a give me give me give me society when it comes to our Government...Americans need to get up off their lazy duffs and do it their selves.
I have a wonderful suggestion, lets get up off our duffs and petition the Governor to allow them to build the coal plant here. This plant will be just as safer than the recently approved Nuclear plant Progress energy will be building in Levy County..Lets get off our duffs and push projects like Dr. Pruitts through so we can have some kind of growth to occur here.
Lets write letters to our deadbeat congress who has a even lower approval rating than the President and tell them to get off their lazy duffs and pass some common sense legislation.
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You are right, the grants department has priority all screwed up. I know it all for a fact. I suggested to Miss Cox to go after Housing and Job creation grants that were offered by the feds. She lacks the experience or is afraid to go after Federal grants. She said that they were too time consuming and that the county didn;'t have the staff to handle the processing involved with the federal grants. I have never worked in government, but if it's free money, it's free money. There was a young lady working in e grant office about 6 months ago, which I understand resigned, who I met at a Vision 2060 meeting who seemed to have the motivation needed to make a change when it came to realizing the problems and the needs of the area. She had something to do with Public Housing I think. Anyway, it's a shame that when the county finally hires someone who has their priorities straight, they leave. I think Jack Brown has his hands full with a lot of incompetent people working for him. To get jobs in Taylor County, fire the head of the TCDA, hire a professional with a proven record from another city. Encourage County Commissioners to pass local statutes to encourage businees to come to Perry. Someone also needs to work on a welcoming committee. This is not a very friendly town if you were not born here.
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Exactly what I was saying, and if this doesn't work out, maybe we find something that does along the way. Just today an energy company in texas has decided to invest in a wind farm, we have wind all the time on the coast, I don't know who you are, and I don't know if you could fight against the tide that is there, but I would support you, on this idea, I too think everything is right here, just no one to take advantage of it.
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How about a "floating windfarm" off the coast ? What say you ?
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Everything you all are suggesting sounds like old timers swinging on an old porch. No imagination, only pass stories and ideas. Pine trees and silly ideas on power generation. Taylor County now is nothing more than a gas stop. Green you say, looks like a war zone from the air. Automobiles are getting better mileage and they will be buying less and passing Perry all together. What will make people stop in Perry in the future? What about the highway that will bypass Perry? What about this year or the next? let us take care of our own to begin with.How about a two year academic junior college for our youth now? In 1960 to 1962 I went to a college in Fort Lauderdale in wooden barracks. Are you looking for the wrong industries? As far as wind mills goes why aren't you thinking of the tides instead? Also hope you aren't typing all this stuff on government or company time.
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Buckeye already produces power from Pine Trees, they're trying to expand that production. Talk about old timers on the porch, what bypass, that's been dead a long time.
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Why is everyone so excited to be the next coal/solar/wind/nuclear power plant in town. That conversation needs to get dropped...forever. Isn't one geological disaster enough with Buckeye? The town needs more industry...not be a generator for the rest of the state. Does anyone doubt the city would have responded with an overwhelming "YES" vote if that coal plant had been nuclear? Outside of the fairytale Amusement Park theme proposal that I read about going in at the beach...what other prospective ideas are on the table at this time? Bombing Range is out...Coals out...Beach Condos and a gulf course I've heard about (sounds fishy)...Is there anything on the table right now awaiting approval or possible businesses moving in to be excited about? By the way...why does Perry need another pharmacy? Isn't that what's going in across from Hardies?
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heard that Southern and Cogentrix is want land in Taylor County to build a natural gas plant to provide energy for the nuclear plant proposed in Levy County.
Another polluter on the horizon???
Google this company.
Yes across from Hardies is going to be a Wal-Greens.
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Taylor County is potentially far ahead of alot of places for sustained and quality economic development. There is no strategic direction from the county leadership.
What does Taylor County have to offer? First, there is a great infrastructure compared with other rural areas. You have a fairly new hospital; technical schools in or nearby; an airport with a long runway; not too far off I-10; rail access; beaches and recreational areas; variety of stores and restaurants; pharmacies; and a clean environment. The list could go on.
I am not going to get into a debate about the pros and cons of any particular planned residential/recreational developments, but will say that the county has potential to market itself in the ecotourism area. I run across quite a number of foreign tourists in Keaton Beach who found the place on their own. Imagine what a little marketing could do.
However, there are many other areas that could produce higher paying jobs than in the tourism service sector. These include research into alternative fuels; aquafarming; clean manufacturing; relocation of federal government jobs; and data processing centers (they are moving back to the States these days). However, the county leadership needs to decide where to focus and pitch it.
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Time for a change , something new , something not blue, something so wise it out smarted MCCAIN TO.
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If Obama does win Kiss everything you know and Love about this country goodby because you will not belive it. When he gets through with us.
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Jobs in Taylor County? What jobs? There is no plan to create jobs, no plan by TCDA, the Chamber or county commission. No one wants any change. Other than the recently unemployed there really is not any meaningful labor force here to fill any high skill high wage jobs. Thanks to the education system!
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The development authority really need to pull up their socks, after all the funding, they have hardly created one job in the county.
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Breer and company cannot create jobs, TCDA has turned into an ole-boys club who only looks at further polluting our community. Heck, TCDA cannot assist local businesses to help retain any jobs. I agree TCDA should be made to report to the community. I remember years ago when they had that guy who lived in Tampa and he could not tell the county commission one thing he accomplished in a year. TCDA is pretty much back to that time, Breer has done a great job of that, and that Bassssssset character too!
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