COVERGENCE

CONVERGED Heading into the Hill Country Economic Summit, KEDC’s Gil Salinas believes things are coming together economically and will be . . .

The way Gil Salinas sees it, what’s happening in Kerrville is no accident because momentum has been building in the region for some time, but it took just the right conditions to move things forward. Those conditions include the attractiveness of the Hill Country, along with leadership from some of Kerr County’s biggest players, namely the city of Kerrville, Kerrville Independent School District, Schreiner University and Peterson Health.

Salinas, the chief operating officer of the Kerr Economic Development Corporation, is touting the recent successes when it comes to developing the

regional economy, and he will be doing even more of that during the Hill Country Economic Summit on Feb. 13.

“We are going to be providing an overview of where we’re at 10 years ago, where we’re at two or three years ago and then where we’re at today,” Salinas said. “We are going to get into some of the projects that we have in our project pipeline. We might even be able to name some names.” Those names, which Salinas keeps closely guarded, could be a major manufacturer. He’s hinted at the possibility of attracting an aerospace-focused company to the Kerrville/Kerr County Airport.

“Everything is starting to line up,” Salinas said of the economic outlook for Kerrville and the area. “We are seeing that in the latter part of 2020 you’re really going to see everything converge.”

The start of 2020 has already been busy with the opening of retailers Hobby Lobby and Harbor Freight, but also the decision by the Kerrville City Council to approve 510 homes to be built by D.R. Horton over the next few years. That decision is expected to help alleviate Kerrville’s challenges with affordable housing, which weighs on the mind of nearly every executive in “Everything is starting to line up. We are seeing that in the latter part of 2020 you’re really going to see everything converge.” DIG DEEPER ➤ Visit dailytimes.com to listen to a podcast of the interview between Gil Salinas and Kerrville Daily Times Managing Editor Louis Amestoy about the Kerrville economy.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN KERR COUNTY FOR 2019 ➤ For the first time in more than 20 years, at least according to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kerr County’s unemployment rate has held steady at 2.9% from September through the end of November. After a slow start to 2019, unemployment fell to 2.5% in April and May. The 2.5% rate was the lowest since 1999 when the rate fell to 1.9% in December of that year. From 1998 to the end of 1999, the rate was below 3%, but in January 2000 the rate jumped to 4.1%. The 2019 number are the flatest, however, in recent memory.

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The following Kerrville-area businesses are celebrating milestone anniversaries as BBB Accredited Businesses:

Clark Plumbing & Digging Services | 14 years

Holloway Plumbing | 14 years

Comfort Seal Insulation | 11 years

C & F Heating & Air Co | 10 years

Kustom Karpets Inc | 9 years