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Aerospace Announcement Coming; Could Benefit Our Area
October 21, 2009
(Updated) Governors from two states will make a major aerospace announcement Monday that will impact the Gulf Coast Corridor — an area from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, through Alabama and into Northwest Florida along I-10.
NorthEscambia.com has learned that Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will make the announcement Monday in Bay Minette, an announcement that is expected to have a future economic impact in North Escambia. Barbour will appear via satellite.
Officials with the State of Alabama confirmed Wednesday morning that the meeting would also include economic development officials from Florida. They termed the announcement “a new aerospace marketing effort”. The event will also include an update on the KC-45 Tanker Project that may be located at Brookley Field in Mobile. The final decision on that project won’t be made until the summer of 2010.
“I can honestly say I don’t know that the announcement is about,” Jim Kellen, executive director of the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council, said Tuesday. The SAWDC is a regional workforce planning agency serving Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and Washington counties. But Kellen did confirm that the two governors would be in Bay Minette Monday afternoon for a joint announcement.
“I am excited about the possibility of regional collaboration and growth,” Kellen said of a regional Aerospace Corridor project including Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. “That is a real positive thing.”
Even if the corridor announcement made Monday does not specifically include Florida, Kellen acknowledged it could still have a great impact in North Escambia due to the reasonable driving distance from the area to Escambia, Baldwin or even Mobile counties.
“Over time, we will continue to see the entire region prosper,” he said, as industry changes. A large part of the economy in the eight counties served by SAWDC revolved around timber for decades. With the faltering economy, the timber industry was hit hard, he said, and more technological growth in areas like aerospace could be the entire area’s saving grace.
The I-10 Aerospace Corridor, Kellen said, begins with the NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and continues across Alabama and places like Brookley Field in Mobile and Goodrich Aerospace in Foley, and continues into Northwest Florida toward Eglin Air Force Base.
NorthEscambia.com was the first to report his story, and we will continue to follow it and report any new information.
Comments
4 Responses to “Aerospace Announcement Coming; Could Benefit Our Area”
It could actually work in the area’s favor if the wages are lower. The Small Business Association offers opportunities for federal contracts through programs such as HUBZone Utilization. A HUBZone is a Historically Underutilized Business Zone and this designation is based on local wages. Escambia County, AL is located in a HubZone (most AL counties are HUBZones). Escambia County, FL is not. By law, 35% of the employees must live in the HUBZone. A certain percentage of the work must be done at the facility located within the HUBZone depending on the industry (can’t have a business in a HUBZone and subcontract out most of the work outside of the HUBZone).
One advantage is that a HUBZone can be awarded a contract with no competition or the Government could set it aside and only let HUBZones compete. If a HubZone contractor is competing against a non-HUBZone contractor, the HUBZone-qualified contractor may win the contract even if they offer a higher price. The reason is that the Government has to factor a 10-percent price evaluation preference (the Government has to deduct 10% from the HUBZone when comparing price to a non-HUBZone offeror). Read more at SBA website: http://www.fedmarket.com/articles/hubzone-government-contracts.shtml
I’m a Contracting Officer, and I’m encouraged to award to small businesses, HUBZone or any other SBA designated businesses. The Department of Defense, just as most federal agencies, have goals that require that a certain percentage of DoD contracts must be awarded to meet small business goals.
Sorry, the announcement may have nothing to do with the announcement, but I thought I’d share.
To bama54:
You can always hope, but the reason they are coming here is most likely because of the low prevailing wages in this area. They won’t have to pay “GOOD” wages. They will be able to get good workers by paying just a little bit more than anyone else around here, but not nearly what they would have to pay somewhere else.
Nothing like a bunch of good ole boys from South Alabama building planes and rockets. There may be some baling wire and duct tape holding things together, but a proper lube with WD40 and that thing will fly for 50 years.
Some good news for a change. Now just how many jobs? I guess I’ll be moving to Alabama if I get a “GOOD” paying job. I sure miss this “poor” county with all its doing nothing politicians, at least Alabama is trying, what is Florida/Escambia County doing???