By KEN de la BASTIDE, Herald Bulletin
The administration of Mayor Kevin Smith says it has a new approach in utilizing business consultant Greg Winkler to contact companies and funneling dollars to improve infrastructure in the city.
Winkler appeared before the Anderson City Council on Monday. There were about 50 people in the council chambers, but only three members of the public raised questions.
Democrats on the City Council wanted to know if the city is getting its money’s worth with Winkler. They wanted an accounting of Winkler’s first 16 months on the job.
State and federal tax incentives give Anderson an advantage when it comes to attracting investment, according to Winkler.
He told the council there are only seven cities in the state with CRED Districts (state tax credits), a few with the federal new market incentives, but Anderson is the only that also has a Foreign Trade Zone.
Winkler called the 110 acres of Scatterfield Road property currently owned by General Motors as the more powerful area in the state for future development.
“We can have an impact on a company’s bottom line,” he said. “We can show them a return on a company’s investment.”
The meeting opened with Council President Rick Muir, D-at large, asking Winkler several questions about when his company, Lead Climbers, was formed and his experiences.
Winkler said the company was formed in July 2004 and that Anderson is his only customer. His background was sales for a national engineering company based in California.
Muir asked Winkler how many jobs might be created based on the discussions taking place.
“If we are successful with the companies we are currently negotiating with, it would be over 1,000 jobs to Anderson,” Winkler said.
Muir said the council should be updated on Winkler’s activities every three months. Winkler is paid $9,000 per month and up to $4,000 per month in expenses by the city.
“I’m very concerned that this community is paying the bills,” he said. “I’m hopeful you have good news coming. It’s time to keep a close eye on the progress.”
Smith asked council members why they didn’t question previous food and beverage tax expenditures.
“This is very suspicious to me,” the mayor said. “In the past the council didn’t questions those things (spending) or hold people accountable.”
Muir said Smith can speak about what was done without being critical of previous administrations.
“With all the firsts of your administrations and all the screw-ups in the past,” he said, “I can sleep better knowing we’re going to see results.
“We’re not wrong for raising the issues,” Muir said of the expenditures. “I’m sorry we didn’t challenge how funds were spent in the past.”
Winkler said since July 2004 he has made contact with 184 companies, has ongoing discussions with 110, 18 current leads and seven in negotiation.
“Three companies are coming to town this week,” he said. “We have had two wins, Altairnano and Ertl Enterprises, and a third we’re not allowed to announce yet.”
Winkler said Altairnano is bringing 100 high-paying jobs to Anderson and Ertl is bringing five full-time jobs with plans to expand by another three to five jobs in the future. He said the Altairnano jobs would pay in the range of the mid-$20,000 to more than $100,000.
He said that his strategy is to talk with the highest decision maker possible and then work up the chain of command inside a company considering expansion or relocation.
“Before a company is ready to expand is the time to make contact with them,” Winkler said.
Smith said he was not pleased with the economic development direction the city had taken in the past.
Smith said during his first 22 months in office the city has focused on making needed infrastructure improvements to allow for development in The Flagship business park.
“We don’t want to raise false hopes in the community before an agreement is signed,” Smith said.
Commenting on the GM properties along Scatterfield Road, Smith said the city continues to negotiate with the company.
“We only have one shot at this site,” he said. “This is one piece of the economic development puzzle. A number of companies have shown an interest in the property.”
Democrats on the City Council expressed concerns about not being informed by the administration on the economic development efforts.
“I sat here for 85 minutes and heard nothing new,” Councilman Art Pepelea Jr., R-at large, said. “We set up a monthly meeting with the mayor.”
Pepelea said Democrats should set up a time to meet monthly with the administration.
“All nine members should be involved,” Councilman Rodney Chamberlain, D-at large, said. “We shouldn’t have to call and set up a meeting. The administration should be contacting us.”
@ 2005 The Herald Bulletin.