City Council OKs seven projects to promote Marion brand

By Mike Conley The McDowell News
Published: October 16, 2008

City leaders have a list of seven projects that could help Marion promote its "brand," support local businesses and improve the downtown area.At a recent meeting, the Marion City Council approved a list of seven initiatives that were recommended by the N.C. STEP Steering Committee. The N.C. Rural Center's Small Town Economic Prosperity (STEP) program provides training, guidance and financial resources to develop plans and programs that will strengthen the civic and economic environment of small towns in North Carolina.

The program is part of the Rural Center's Small Towns Initiative, which was launched to help revitalize the state's economically distressed towns with populations less than 10,000. In 2006, Marion was one of the few small towns in North Carolina selected the program.

As part of the effort, the STEP Program Leadership Committee recommended seven projects that could be done with grant money coming from the Rural Center and other sources. Heather Cotton, the city's planning and development director, outlined each one to council.

The first project would promote a "Made in McDowell" branding. That means marketing Marion in a way that sets it apart from the rest of the region. Local leaders could develop a "Made in McDowell" advertising campaign and start a Web site to promote locally made products. As part of this effort, a permanent location for the farmer's market could be found.

The second project would provide more support and training for new small businesses in Marion and McDowell County. This would include incentive programs for small business startup such as rental/utility assistance, providing capital resources, and revolving loans. More training could be made available.

The third project focuses on improving the technological infrastructure in Marion, which would involve getting wireless Internet in the downtown area. Local leaders could also provide training seminars on how to promote a business on the Web.

The other projects recommended by the committee cover such areas as the city's expensive water and sewer improvements and the development of a downtown center that would help new businesses get started. Another initiative would focus on finding new uses for old, vacant plant buildings.

The city would work with McDowell Technical Community College, the school system, the Marion Business Association, the McDowell Chamber of Commerce and AdvantageWest to get these efforts done.

City Manager Bob Boyette said he appreciated the work of Freddie Killough and Bobbie Young from the Marion Business Association and especially Cotton for the work they put into coming up with these recommendations. Mayor Everette Clark said the STEP Program is still new and the Rural Center wants to have projects that create good jobs."We want to see a lot of these things become a reality," said Clark.

In other business, Boyette presented council with an update on the jobs lost through industrial closings in Marion. Since 1990, Marion has lost 2,988 manufacturing jobs. That figure includes the latest closing at Spectrum Yarns. The city has also seen a utility revenue loss of $565,202 per year and a total property tax loss of $129,746 per year.