Regional cooperation remains a key part of the Danville area’s economic success.
“Partnerships are everything,” Martin Briley, president of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, told a group of about 140 people who attended the day-long economic development summit at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research.
Briley was the keynote speaker at lunch, explaining how the group he leads disperses money in the Governor’s Opportunity Fund, passes leads about companies interested in doing in business in Virginia along to local economic development departments and works with those local groups to recruit companies from around the country and the world.
Those leads come from a variety of sources, Briley said, ranging from higher education partners, existing businesses and economic development allies who have worked out partnerships with each other.
“Our job is to help companies solve its problems,” Briley said. “Companies go where their problems are solved, where costs of growth are reduced, and where there is security in the business and talent climate.”
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine — the keynote speaker at dinner — backed those comments up.
Asked by Vice Mayor Gary Miller how a community that often feels ignored by Richmond legislators can improve their relationship with the governor’s office, Kaine said, “The better regional cooperation you have, the more the governor is going to listen to you.”
Kaine and Briley also stressed the importance of higher education attainment, an area where Danville lags behind state and national averages. Just 16.4 percent of city residents — and 13.9 percent of county residents — had a four-year college degree; that’s well below the 34.7 percent of all Virginians who hold a bachelor’s degree.
But, Kaine said, higher education does not have to be a four-year college — internships, on-the-job training that leads to a certificate and career and technical training programs all deserve to be recognized and counted as legitimate higher education options, he said.
Kaine said that now that the federal government has a two-year budget in place, the economy will improve — as long as the debt ceiling, which is due for review next month, isn’t used to derail the budget.
“I believe the economy is about to see some real life if we get over the debt ceiling,” Kaine said.
Danville’s pluses and minuses were painstakingly laid out for attendees.
On the plus side the city is in a good location, has a moderate climate with rare natural disasters, access to money from the Tobacco Commission and other groups, a one-stop utility department, a relatively low cost of living and inexpensive broadband access.
Minuses include low educational attainment, which makes employers worry about finding an educated workforce; no interstate highway; a shortage of medium-sized industrial sites and readily suitable buildings; high median age and low average household incomes.
There are also perception problems, with young people feeling the city does not have enough good-paying jobs or entertainment options, and a population that has developed a negative attitude about the city.
Lynwood Wright, with the city’s economic development department, said the negativity is extremely frustrating, since economic development prospects generally don’t say why they are in Danville as they are scouting around and chatting to with residents.
“If you can’t say something good about the city, why would they think it’s a place to bring their business,” Wright said.
There are assets that are important in drawing people to a community, such as an attractive downtown — a project the city began working on a couple of years ago.
Karl Stauber, CEO of the Danville Regional Foundation, said the Downtowner — the long-abandoned downtown hotel — was a symbol of downtown failure, and that is why the foundation funded its demolition.
“It was a symbol that downtown was stuck,” Stauber said. “We showed folks change was possible and could be positive.”
Another important asset is the Dan River itself, Wright said.
“What is the one thing we have to have to support life,” Wright said, pointing out that the Dan River once supplied water comfortably though a four-year drought. “And water is the lifeblood of most manufacturing.”
Economic Development Director Jeremy Stratton said the complete program from the summit will be posted on the city’s website within a week.
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