Palatka Daily News<\/p>\n
By Wayne Smith on Saturday, December 7, 2019<\/p>\n
A couple of years after being referred to as a dying community, economic investments in Putnam County tell a much different story. On the heels of entering a new decade, six companies operating in Putnam County have poured more than $1.8 billion into the local economy since 2017, according to data supplied by the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. The investment total includes ongoing projects at major employers and investments since 2017.Of that $1.8 billion investment, Seminole Electric leads the way with$750 million poured into the county toward its operations and new natural gas-fired plant just north of Palatka. Georgia-Pacific \u2013 the area\u2019s largest private employer \u2013 has invested $620million at its Palatka paper mill, including a project bringing the latest in paper machine technology to the plant. Seminole and GP considered other locations for their latest projects before deciding to make additional investments in Putnam County.<\/p>\n
Ben Bates is a local business leader who helped form 1 Putnam, a group driving revitalization in Palatka and Putnam County. He said, \u201cI think Seminole and GP are the most important because it ensures both companies will be in Putnam County for a number of years going forward. \u201cBoth have such an economic impact with jobs created and the taxes they pay. It\u2019s a win-win for us.\u201d Other investments adding to the $1.8 billion include $390 million from Florida Power & Light for three solar panel facilities in Putnam County. Continental Building Projects, a drywall and wallboard supplier in Palatka, has invested $53 million into the area economy. Meanwhile, Comarco Products is spending another $12 million as the eggplant manufacturing facility prepares to move its headquarters from New Jersey to the Putnam County Business and Aviation Park. Seeing numbers that include the word billion is encouraging to Putnam County officials and business leaders when looking to the future. \u201cI think our best days are in front of us,\u201d Bates said. \u201cMy feeling is if the entire county comes together and realizes what we can do to make our community better, we can do whatever we desire. \u201cToday, the spirit is so much more positive even than it was a year ago. There\u2019s more optimism and less pessimism. People said we didn\u2019t have this or that and that we were dying. Now, people see better days in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Brian Bergen\u2019s job to ensure economic growth continues. Bergen is the vice president of economic development for the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, he came to Palatka from the Midwest four years ago. He knew about the Washington Post <\/em>story calling Palatka a \u201cdying city\u201d in a headline. Today, that perception is different. \u201cI do think that has changed,\u201d Bergen said. \u201cYou\u2019d have to be blind to not see all the great things happening in our community.\u201d Along with the capital investment, growth has also meant more jobs. Georgia-Pacific\u2019s paper machine project contributed to more than 100 new full\u2013time positions at the mill. Comarco, which is expected to begin production in Palatka next spring, is projected to create 120 jobs. With every primary job created comes secondary jobs from service industries. The chamber said 605 secondary jobs produce an estimated$13.3 million in annual wages. Construction jobs created through projects also boost the area\u2019s economy. GP officials said work on the new paper machine project is at its peak, with about 600 contractor workers on site with estimated wages of $12.7 million. Seminole said earlier this year construction jobs for its project would peak at about 500. FPL\u2019s projects account for about 200 construction jobs per site. The job growth is a significant reversal of fortune for the county.<\/p>\n When it was referred to as a dying city, retailers such as JCPenney and Kmart had left. At the same time, the school district\u2019s graduation rate was declining, the hospital was struggling and infrastructure improvements were needed.Those things have changed or are a work in progress. Putnam remains one of Florida\u2019s poorest counties, but economic growth numbers signal a positive change, business leaders say. \u201cThese are facts, numbers readily available to everyone,\u201d Bergen said of the investment total. \u201cAll my career has been in rural economic development. I\u2019ve never in my career seen this much in investment and job growth in a rural community. \u201cYou total up those project numbers and it adds up to about $1.8 billion and that\u2019s very significant for a community our size.\u201d Retaining existing employers is as important as recruiting new industry, Bergen said. That\u2019s why continuing investments from companies like Seminole and GP are critical. \u201cWe certainly don\u2019t want to lose a Georgia-Pacific,\u201d Bergen said. \u201cIt impacts 11,000 people in the region. So retention is a very critical part of what we have to do. \u201cEverything that supports that plant \u2013 from cut timber to toilet paper and paper towels, all the forestry people involved, trucking supplies that come into the plant \u2013 it would leave a very large hole.\u201d The investment also provides tax revenue for the county.<\/p>\n According to the chamber, GP\u2019s annual ad valorem taxes are estimated at $3.8 million. Mark Brown, public affairs manager for Georgia-Pacific, said the company\u2019s new paper machine project is an indication of its commitment to Putnam County. GP has about 1,000 employees at its Palatka mill. \u201cGP and our team here are proud to be a part of the strength of our region\u2019s economy and to contribute to this community,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe continue to invest in our facility and our future, from equipment to workforce development. \u201cThe Palatka team continues to focus every day on operating safely, environmentally responsibly and competitively so that our success in Putnam County can continue for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Seminole Electric officials said the company has been a proud partner of the Putnam County community for more than four decades. It has about 270 employees. \u201cWith the construction of our new Seminole Combined- Cycle Facility, we expect the relationship to continue for decades to come,\u201d said Charlie Huguenard, vice president of power production. \u201cSeminole\u2019s facilities are very much an integral part of the community and the love and pride for this community is evident with our employees. \u201cWe are fortunate to be located in Putnam County and consider that to be a very important aspect of our operations.\u201d With revitalization efforts underway, civic officials and business leaders agree that will spur more economic development in the county. \u201cIt\u2019s phenomenal growth for a rural community, and even when compared to larger communities, it speaks volumes to see the high-level commitment these companies have to grow their business here,\u201d said Dana Jones, president of the chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cThey see Putnam County as a viable place to spend their money on capital investments.\u201d Bill Shanahan, Palatka\u2019s new city manager, said everything is in place for continued growth in the city and the county. \u201cNo. 1, where we\u2019re located puts us in perfect position for economic development with good roads going in and going out of the community,\u201d Shanahan aid. \u201cNo. 2, I think we have an amazing airport that is being underused. \u201cI think we can do great things here. It\u2019s just a matter of getting everyone together, coming up with a war plan and moving forward.\u201d Wayne McClain, a community advocate and vice president of Beck Automotive Group, has lived in the area for many years and is pleased with the progress he sees. \u201cI\u2019ve been here a long time and I\u2019ve never seen this many positive steps taken by different entities in our community,\u201d McClain said. \u201cNow you see businesses coming to town, building permits increasing and people coming to stay here. \u201cI think now\u2019s our time to shine.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Palatka Daily News By Wayne Smith on Saturday, December 7, 2019 A couple of years after being referred to as a dying community, economic investments in Putnam County tell a much different story. On the heels of entering a new decade, six companies operating in Putnam County have poured more than $1.8 billion into the […]\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[234,4,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seminole-electric.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}