-
Former Edmond Mayor Patrice Douglas addresses the city council. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
During a special meeting held Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, the Cordell city council heard from Patrice Douglas about various strategies to promote economic development in the city. Douglas was formerly the mayor of Edmond and served on the city’s economic development authority prior to her election.
The first step in economic development, she told the council, is to formulate a strategic plan. The first element of that plan should be defining the type of development desired by the city - festivals and tourism or a specific type of business or industry. From there the city needs to conduct an honest inventory of assets. “What assets do we have,” she asked. “What can we build on?”
Douglas focused on the historic Washita County Courthouse as one of the city’s main economic development assets. The courthouse, along with the downtown area, she said, could be developed into a charming and inviting place for both tourists and new businesses.
In order to push such development, however, the city must take a hard look at existing ordinances and ensure they are written in such a way as to support the development goals, she said. She told the council members about development in Edmond, where the city had worked to bring in a software company, but the ordinances didn’t support the business. The company invested roughly $3 million in server equipment, but was then cited for not having a water-based fire suppression system. While there are numerous non-liquid suppression systems, the city ordinances were outdated and did not allow for those options.
She stressed the importance of the city pursuing grants to help cover the costs of development, especially Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and participation in the Main Street program. The grants, she said, could be used for infrastructure repair and expansion, beautification projects, or other economic development activities.
Douglas also discussed the importance of public/ private partnerships and involving the city’s business leaders in the development discussion. Those partnerships, she said, help drive positive business perceptions of the city, resulting in greater interest and impact than the city could make on its own.