In what was a pulse check of financial health, South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council Executive Director Carter Hendricks delivered a comprehensive update to the Trigg County Fiscal Court Monday night — showcasing key points about the region’s future.
At the forefront: a nearly-completed spec building inside the I-24 Business Park — a structure that has a chance to bring in what Hendricks called “good, long-staying jobs” for Cadiz and regional commuters.
Expected to have a ribbon-cutting sometime in the late fourth quarter, Hendricks told the court that of the 28-plus requests for information on sites in Trigg County in the last 18 months, more than 15 of them have led to site visits near Cadiz — in order to gauge the full capabilities of this new facility.
Hendricks also told Judge-Executive Stan Humphries and the magistrates that within a 100-mile radius, spec buildings like Trigg County’s newest creation don’t exist. They’ve already been filled, or simply haven’t been constructed.
This led to Humphries and Hendricks making this point: patience is key, and patience can be afforded.
Hendricks also noted that Trigg County’s economic growth shouldn’t entirely be based on actual businesses being created inside its county lines. New businesses and industry for Christian and Todd counties, on average, have anywhere from 10-to-15% of its workforce residing either near or inside Cadiz, and the same would be true for new jobs in Trigg County.
New regional development, he added, can also spur future opportunities inside other municipal boundaries — as Todd County’s Novelis, Christian County’s Ascend Elements and Trigg County’s Wabash, and a number of industries near Clarksville continue to be hubs of sprawling industry.
He referenced a comprehensive report from the Tennessee Valley Authority and third-party demographer Lightcast for background.
Other key figures for Trigg, Christian and Todd counties:
— More than 1,900 new jobs are expected to come to the three-county region, with roughly 250 of those residing inside Trigg County’s boundaries.
— Of the three-county’s $900-million-plus in manufacturing gross regional product, 4% belongs in Trigg, 7% belongs in Todd and 89% belongs in Christian.
— Trigg’s available labor force is currently north of 5,000 people.
— There is a continued growth in jobs expected for Trigg County over the next five years from more than 3,500 to more than 3,700. Furthermore, there already has been a 3-point jump in labor force participation from 2021, up to 54.5% in 2022.
— Trigg County has twice the number of veterans working/living in the area than similar-sized counties across the country, while violent crime is well-below the national average of 3.9 per 1,000 citizens (0.5 per 1,000).
— And Trigg County’s unemployment rate continues to be one of the lowest in west Kentucky, sitting at 4.56% this past March.
Even more, Hendricks said Trigg County continues to be marketed as a “less taxing, more relaxing” area and way of life, and a recent tag line of “Go Pig and Come Home!” has been used to showcase the City of Cadiz and its surrounding colloquial comforts.
If there was any “bad news” to report, Hendricks made mention of Trigg’s population expectations — which, at the moment, seem to trend downward more than 600 people over the next six years.
However, the SWK profile is expected to increase from more than 99,400 to more than 101,200, and Hendricks noted that a focus on residential development, embracing a manufacturing boom and the state’s continued push toward a lower or zeroed income tax could lead to trend reversal in Trigg.
Other factors, he said, make Trigg County a desirable place to be.
Hendricks was also asked by Magistrate Mike Wright about the waffling Buc-ee’s location between Oak Grove and Clarksville, and if this area still had a shot at nabbing the mega-site development.
A date to remember: November 1 is the SWK Industry Appreciation Luncheon, inside Hopkinsville’s Bruce Convention Center.
