Clay Officials, Public Will Set Two-Year Goals Tuesday

Clay County’s Joint Economic and Community Development Board will hold an asset-based planning forum to create three major goals for the next two years.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Doug Young said the meeting will include the chamber, boards for industrial development and the emergency communications district, and other local leaders. Young said the event is open to the public so anyone can voice their opinions about what the county should focus on over the next two years.

“That happens frequently, somebody comes up with something that’s been weighing on them for some time and they’ll put it out on the table and we’ll bat it around and improve on it and it may end up being one of the three goals,” Young said. “So input is important.”

Young said he hopes to see the county carry tourism improvements over as one of its goals from the last forum. Young said this will be the county’s fourth forum of this kind and each one has led to positive results for the community.

The meeting takes place Tuesday at 1:30pm in the auditorium of the Clay County Fairgrounds.

“We have a good bunch of people who come together and discuss what our weaknesses are that we may be able to turn into strengths,” Young said. “And then everybody’s kind of on the same page.”

Young said one of the goals for the last forum was to improve the local job market. Young said the efforts that followed led to the establishment of a workforce development committee which played a part in the county going from being distressed to only at-risk.

“We’re working on those goals and then going ahead to identify more goals or we may double back and work some more on the past goals and shore those up some,” Young said. “But it’s all up to the people in the community to make that determination.”

Young said the board holds this meeting once every two years as part of the state’s Three Star program.