MAY 2014 NEWSLETTER       |       Huntington Area Development Council       |       www.hadco.org 

IN THIS ISSUE










- Downtown Huntington, Fourth Avenue, Photo by Meghan Elkins -
AG Aggregation Facility Being Considered for Huntington
By Gary Walton, HADCO President

Public officials, food purchasers, distributors and local agriculture producers met April 23 at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena to discuss the need to establish an agricultural aggregation facility in Huntington.  

 

State Secretary of Agriculture Walt Helmick reported that West Virginia grows around $1.3 billion worth of food annually, but he stressed tremendous potential for agricultural expansion.

Establishing a five-county aggregation facility for Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and Wayne counties could be one means to aid growth, he said. It would need to be "privately owned and operated," but the state Department of Agriculture could serve as a "catalyst" to make it happen. Helmick indicated a facility would not be likely for this growing season, and farmers in attendance said this year's crop distributions are already committed. However, other meetings are expected to be held in coming months as developments proceed.

 

Growing and Earning More  

 

Russ Bailey, President of U.S. Foods in Hurricane, said "huge opportunity for agricultural projects" exists and he mentioned that local food manufacturing firms use locally-grown products, but would like to buy more. He emphasized the importance of enhancing local capacity, including both the quantity and quality of products. Row crops are easier to maintain and the area has necessary acreage to generate enough volume for an aggregation facility to work, he concluded.   

 

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams suggested that creative ways to establish synergy between agriculture and the arts might prove useful for helping local entrepreneurs succeed.

 

Bobby Lewis of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Rural Development Administration said the federal government has at least 41 programs to support rural West Virginia, including several low interest loan and loan guarantee programs.  


Questions arose concerning GAP Certification, product liability and other items of importance to local producers. Issues like building and equipment, process and storage, greenhouse concepts for growing produce, and price competitiveness were also discussed.

Capito Tours Intermodal Facility in Wayne County

By Diane Pottorff


PRICHARD - Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (D-W.Va.) saw the Heartland Gateway Intermodal Facility at Prichard Friday morning [May 2]. Capito, who is in the running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV to retirement, got her first look at the facility which is 30 percent complete.

Earth has been moved at the facility for the last 14 months, engineer Derrick Johnson said. And depending on the weather, the facility is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Johnson said work on the large parking pad should begin in June with the pouring of concrete. Workers are also putting in a $1.7 million box culvert and will begin constructing a $2 million bridge.

 

Capito asked officials, "Why Prichard?"

Western Gate Authority chair and Wayne County Economic Development vice-chair Tim Kinsey responded that for a long time, officials looked at Prichard as well as other locations to put the facility, and Prichard with its ready rail access and central location relating to area businesses and industry won out.  

 

To support the construction of the facility, Norfolk Southern Railway raised tunnels along its route from Front Royal, Va., to Prichard.   

 

Kinsey said about 1,500 trucks a month are expected to be transporting goods to and from the facility once it goes online. He also said this facility would help the coal industry, as it can ship coal and timber, West Virginia's primary resources, to places like India and China. 

 

"This facility will open this area of the state and the southern part of the state to global traffic with access to river, road and rail," Capito said. "This gives the area a lot of opportunities for jobs."

 

Funding for the facility was through grants, as well as a tax on rail fuel.  

 

Trains carrying double-stack containers will enter the facility to park the containers for pick-up and will return containers by rail to ports along the Atlantic Ocean in international commerce.

- Reprinted with permission from The Wayne County News, www.waynecountynews.com 

 

City Launches Initiative to Help Small Businesses
The City of Huntington, in collaboration with several organizations, unveiled a new initiative Monday, April 28, that aims to create an environment where small businesses can succeed.

The goals of the long-term initiative, called "Huntington: Be Small. Live Large," are to support existing businesses, promote local business and inspire entrepreneurs.

 

"My administration's focus from day one has been to seek job growth in this community," Mayor Steve Williams said. "This exciting initiative is a result of that ongoing effort. Helping our existing small businesses and creating opportunities for new startup companies and aspiring entrepreneurs are the core of any success we will have in moving Huntington forward."

 

 The initiative is a partnership between the city and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce; Unlimited Future, Inc.; Small Business Development Center; Create Huntington; Downtown Huntington Partners; and the Huntington Area Development Council. Representatives of these organizations began meeting in January to explore how they can collaborate to better serve small businesses.

 

To kick off the initiative, several events geared toward assisting small businesses have been scheduled throughout the month of May. They include four Create Huntington Chat 'n Chews focused on small business development, workshops hosted by Unlimited Future, Inc. and the Small Business Development Center, and the Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours Trade Show, just to name a few.

 

"There are a number of resources available to small business owners in this community that can help create an entrepreneurial spirit here," said Cathy Burns, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. "The Chamber advocates on behalf of businesses, provides vital, business-to-business networking to raise your profile and provides programming and events on current issues and topics."


Huntington Area Development Council
916 Fifth Avenue, Suite 400
Huntington, WV 25701

Phone: (304) 525-1161


Gary Walton, CEcD, President