Building a better life in the Parkland

By Victoria Kemper

Iron, Madison, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington Counties all add different growth opportunities for the Parkland.

Each county works both together and on their own to bring businesses into the area and improve the quality of life for those who call it home.

The success of one only helps lift the others.

Iron County

The most recent project in Iron County has been the Shepard Mountain Bike Park which hosted the Big Mountain Enduro, April 30 to May 2.

“Everybody was freaking out about it because we were just getting the park open and then we have to put on this big race,” Arcadia Valley Tourism Committee member and owner of the Fort Davidson Café Chuck Correll said. “But it all went very well. The riders are just ecstatic about the park.”

Correll said they are still collecting numbers to determine the economic impact the race had to the area but he knows his restaurant, on the outskirts in Pilot Knob, had a really good weekend.

“We already have new businesses that are opening as a result of the park,” Correll said. “We have a restaurant that is going to be opening soon in downtown Ironton. People are snapping at rental properties down here like candy.”

Correll said as far as he knows tickets to the top of the mountain have continued to sell out.

He said they are working on a proposal for a phase two expansion of the park which would include a more efficient solution for getting people to the top of the mountain.

“I think we are going to see people relocating down to the Valley and operating their businesses out of the home, as a result of the park,” Correll said. “This was one of the things that we discovered as we were doing our original business case.

“We looked at a lot of the parks that had been built in the last 10 or 15 years. They get the riders, that’s all great, they get tourists and all that but what they really said that the key economic impact was people relocating to their area because of lifestyle.”

Correll said, the influx of people looking for homes increased the property values, and in turn increased the tax base.

“We would love to see growth,” Correll said. “That is the whole emphasis on all of this but we don’t want to lose our quaintness. That will be the balancing act for the next five to 10 years.

Missouri Cobalt is another area of interest in Madison County. The old lead mine was reopened as a cobalt mine in 2018 and has been ramping up ever since. The location is the largest near term primary cobalt reserve in North America.

Madison County Recently Madison County has been looking toward the future and its youth with the development of the new Sports Complex located out Commercial Drive. “The new complex has two softball fields and one baseball field and it has already been excavated to add two more fields in the future,” Madison County Commissioner Larry Kemp said. “These are nice fields. “The facility will be good enough to where our local high school teams can host conference or district tournaments. It’s even good enough for a state tournament.” Kemp said traveling teams in the

Mineral Area Baseball Association and kids of all ages will now have a place to hold tournaments right here at home.

“I look at it as an investment in the future,” Former Madison County Presiding Commissioner Bob Mooney said. “This is something generations can enjoy. I have always said that community development aids economic development.”

Kemp said the final touches to the field are the lighting, which has been approved to purchase and install, and the bathrooms and concession, which should arrive any day now.

Missouri Cobalt is another area of interest in Madison County. The old lead mine was reopened as a cobalt mine in 2018 and has been ramping up ever since. The location is the largest near term primary cobalt reserve in North America.

Kemp said Missouri Cobalt, while he was not optimistic at first, is really building up and he is happy to see them getting involved in community projects such as the Team Up to Clean Up event and their desire to be part of the Sports Complex in some way. He said the mine will continue to bring in additional jobs and raise the assessed valuation of the county as they continue to grow.

In the future, Kemp said he would love to see a Justice Center built in order to move the courtroom to a more accessible building. He would also like to see some more restaurants and possibly a hotel open up.

Of all the past and future projects Kemp and Mooney said the TIF District is one that really stands out as a benefit to the county.

“The TIF district has really improved the county a lot because it paid for all the infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, water, sewer and all that,” Kemp said. “That paid for the ball fields, half of them or more, the ambulance building, the Cherokee Pass Fire building, the bypass. They set it up for things to grow out there.”

Mooney said he considers the establishment of the TIF his greatest accomplishment during his time a commissioner.

St. Francois County

Through the years St. Francois County has continued to grow. Farmington IDA President Chip Peterson said when looking at an area’s long-term stability they look at is as a three-prong stool. The three prongs are jobs, services and housing.

“You have to keep all three of those balanced,” Peterson said. “You want to offer a great school system. You want to have great hospitals. You want to have the retail things that it takes to attract.

“You have to have the housing availability and you have to have a labor force. It’s not just about having people, it’s having trained people to accommodate what you need too.”

When an industry is looking to come to an area, labor force is a big factor in their decision. Peterson said St. Francois County has a great labor force and they are looking to create opportunities for even more specialized training. He also said the solar panel park in Farmington is a great attraction for national companies because it offers stabilized sustainable energy.

“Both IDAs and the county commissioners have been working with (Mineral Area College), as well as several industrial areas, and both reps in the area: Mike Henderson, as well as Dale Wright,” Peterson said. “We are trying to come up with a state-of-the-art secondary education for industrial training, welding, HVAC, CAD, those type, which really are great jobs and often

Ste. Genevieve offers a trifecta of shipping possibilities due to its proximity to the railroad, ports and interstate.

The solar panel park in Farmington is a great attraction for national companies because it offers stabilized sustainable energy.

times get overlooked. By doing that we will have the ability to offer training for those jobs and some industrial certificates. We would have a pool of qualified applicants.”

Peterson said having training available is something the entire area would benefit from and it would boost the appeal for industrial companies to choose the Parkland for their next facility.

“I want to make sure that my kids and my grandkids have got a means of having a decent income job, quality of life and they can stay in this area and not have to move,” Peterson said. “To me that is a great investment in the community on everybody’s behalf. It could really have a positive long-term effect on this community.”

There have also been some new activity around the Bonneville Plaza in Bonne Terre, recently purchased by the Hubbards. Peterson said the plaza has been an eyesore for a lot of years.

“The Hubbards are very community-oriented,” Peterson said. “They’ve invested a lot in the area. They’ve got a lot of energy. I think they will make a go at that and it will make a great addition to the community.”

Park Hills has also invested in the Fairgrounds project off US 67. Located just off the Fairgrounds Drive exit off

Located just off the Fairgrounds Drive exit of US 67, the new Donnely-LaMear Trailhead provides visitors quicker access to St. Joe State Park’s ORV trail systems. Park Hills city leaders are hoping it will attract development.

of US 67, the new Donnely-LaMear Trailhead provides visitors quicker access to St. Joe State Park’s ORV trail systems. The project was a joint program between Missouri State Parks and the City of Park Hills.

Ste. Genevieve County

The most notable addition in Ste. Genevieve County was the River Rapids Waterpark. This is just one of the many improvements along Progress Parkway as the Ste. Genevieve County Community Center also added the new Progress Sports Complex.

“It’s just a really nice community and what community our size has a community center and a water park and then they expanded the community center,” Ste. Genevieve County IDC President Tom Keim said. “There’s so much for kids and families to do there.”

Keim said the sports complex give the community a place to host events, athletics and shows without impacting the other building. He said the community center is just a gem and both it and the water park attract people to the community.

“You have the great opportunity to live in a wonderful friendly community that has all the key things that if you were a business you would want,” Keim said. “From a quality of life, like we mentioned with the community center but if you look at the two schools that are here. We have an outstanding public school, as well as the same with Valle Catholic.”

Keim also said the local hospital is a highlight of the area with the expanded ER, Bloomsdale outreach facility, physician medical building and the new medical surgical building with private rooms.

“The fact is that you have the quality of life and a safe community,” Keim said. “There is a great balance.”

Ste. Genevieve also offers a trifecta of shipping possibilities due to its proximity to the railroad, ports and interstate. There is also an airport just down the interstate in Perryville.

Keim said the biggest need for the areas growth is with housing. He said some of the larger employers in the area are seeing their retiring employees deciding to stay in the area. This is causing a shortage in housing for the new employees coming to the area.

“We have people that are wanting to live here and we need to be building homes,” Keim said. “I think that is our biggest initiative right now is to really expand our communities. We are working on a plan right now where we want to develop some land around Progress Parkway that could really build some nice residential.”

Keim said he would love to see the more unique shops in the downtown historic district as well as growth in the newer areas, as well as in Bloomsdale. He said he would love to see shops come to town that would help keep the retail dollars in the community.

“We’d love to see some retail come to town so people don’t have to leave and spend their dollars somewhere else,” Keim said. “I think if we continue to work on housing, when you have a growing housing community it allows you to grow the type of retail businesses to service that community.”

In November, National Park Service administrators held a ceremony to celebrate the establishment of the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park. The historical sites located within Ste. Genevieve’s downtown area have been established as the 422nd unit to the National Park Service (NPS).

Washington County

Washington County IDA is remaining optimistic as it climbs out of this pandemic to provide growth opportunities to those residing in the industrial park and seeking opportunities.

“An opportunity Washington County IDA will be rolling out is an in-house grant program for the citizens of Washington County as business owners or entrepreneurs,” Washington County IDA Executive Director Krista Snyder said. “This program will provide a 50% match, up to $5,000 per application. The Southeast Economic Development Service (SEED$) will administer the program.”

Snyder said an opportunity she would love to see is the expansion of broadband throughout the county.

“As it stands, less than half of the students in the Washington County school districts are able to connect to any type of internet,” Snyder said. “This is a problematic issue, but at least we have the governor pushing broadband for rural Missouri.”

Snyder said companies seeking sites for strategic opportunities will have a tough time finding a better choice with the Washington County Industrial Park being Missouri-certified, located both in an Opportunity Zone and an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, and has plenty of room to grow. She said Washington County is a Certified Work Ready Community, has access to training, and is a good location.

“Washington County’s central location puts companies within eight hours or a day’s truck drive of more than 127 million consumers, allowing distribution and logistics operations excellent reach with remarkably affordable land and labor,” Snyder said. “Distribution activities are supported with training programs, many available at no cost to employers that deliver skills in areas such as product receiving, storage, order processing, inventory control, dispatch and tracking, and trucking.”

Snyder said the region also offers local employers access to a 50-mile labor shed of more than 263,000 hardworking people.

“One of Washington County’s biggest business advantages is what you can do when you’re not working,” Snyder said. “Our quaint communities are surrounded by nature’s bounty. Nearly a third of the county is within a national forest, and opportunities for hiking, cycling, boating, swimming, camping, hunting, and fishing abound.”

Snyder said anyone will appreciate the friendly way of life you will find throughout the county.

“It’s the safe kind of place where neighbors know and look out for one another, and where kids can be kids,” Snyder said. “You’ll discover plenty of charming shops, including a delightful historic candy store, and dining and drinking options, and when you crave big-city excitement, St. Louis is just an hour away.” PL