This is an article originally published on the KFDA – News Channel 10 website.
by Shannon Smith
AMARILLO, TX (KFDA) – The City of Amarillo is now working to create an Economic Development Strategic Plan, and consultants want your input.
Amarillo is now just months away from having a detailed strategy to attract more business and workers to our area.
The strategic plan is all about reviving the economy in parts of Amarillo where it’s depleted, and working to grow the economy all around.
This plan is something the city council has been discussing for years, but Avalanche Consulting out of Austin just began creating it in January.
Avalanche has been studying the city’s economic factors to determine where growth is most needed.
“It’s really looking at investing in the community, making sure that you’re bringing up the physical infrastructure, the planning for neighborhoods and for the future, and also for the whole population so that you can continue to be a thriving, functioning city,” said Tony DeLisi, Senior Consultant with Avalanche.
He said the firm has noticed three main things the economic plan needs to focus on.
- Preparing for automation technology that may take some area jobs
- Helping grow the workforce, which currently cannot keep up with the growth of businesses
- Getting the entire community involved in the economy
“There’s a lot of ability to expand in aviation, there’s ability to expand with wind energy,” said Mayor Paul Harpole. “There’re different areas where we really stand out that we want to capitalize on and grow the others that have the ability to grow.”
Avalanche will be working with the city, the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, and Community Development Strategies out of Houston over the next few months to find out how to attract more business and workers, and improve our existing infrastructure.
“We want to have those internal dollars working, but if we can get people to come in and invest in our city and grow our economy with dollars that were created outside Amarillo, it really helps to bring those dollars here and expand them,” said Harpole.
Avalanche Consulting is relying heavily on local citizen and business input to shape the plan for Amarillo, which will be finalized in June.
Click here to complete an online survey and learn more about their goals.
Avalanche consultants will be back in Amarillo for a public meeting on Thursday, March 30th.
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