It is a busy time in the City of West Plains with several projects happening and more planned. ECNN talked to West Plains Economic Development Director David Bossemeyer about activity in the Southern Hills Shopping Center
He said two new stores will soon be moving into the Shopping Center
Mr. Bossemeyer also talked about a grant for a railroad overpass and the RT 63 Highway Alliance
He said that during the months of November and December they sent out 2,600 emails each month to prospective companies
Mr. Bossemeyer also sent me a detailed list of Activity in West Plains since the flood of 2017 through the COVID 19 Pandemic in 2020. The list is available to view hear.
FROM THE FLOOD OF 2017 TO THE COVID IN 2020
West Plains Economic Development (WPEDC) is now three years old and it has been quite a ride so far. Starting with the flood clean up in 2017 to the Covid pandemic in 2020. However, through it all West Plains has done well. The following is a recap of “What has happened here” in that time period. WPEDC is by no means taking credit for all that has happened during this time period but we were involved directly or indirectly in a large portion of it. Together we made it Happen!
New Business and New Buildings:
Current Inc. (New Building) Dairy Queen (New Building)
Razor Chiropractic (New Building) Steak N Shake (New Business & Building)
Car Wash USA (New Business & Building) West Plains Vet Supply (New Building)
DRS (New Admin Building) Favorite Fishing (Old Regal Building)
Tractor Supply (New Business & Building) All Steel (New Business & Building)
Marijuana Dispensary (New Business) Vapor Maven (New Business)
Mad Spirits Distillery (New Business) Pine Creek Amish Store (New Business & Building)
Cedar Hurst (New Business & Building) Hampton Inn (New Business & Building)
Edward Jones (New Building) Johnson Machine (New Business)
Loves in Willow (New Business & Building) Strip Mall in Willow (New Building)
Jasper Engine & Transmission (Expansion) New Student Center MSU
Keeley Excavation (New Business) Sugar Lily (New Business)
Taco Alejandra’s (New Business) SAPZ Thai (New Business)
Bring Your Own Dog (New Business) Hirsch (Expansion)
Silver Springs Business Center New Skating Rink (New Building)
Southern Treasures (New Business) CrossFit’s (Relocation)
Sniders Family BBQ (New Business) The Hang Out (New Business)
NEA Mattress (New Business) Painted Pony (New Business)
Harbor Freight (Pending New Business) Burkes Family Outlet (Pending New Business)
Hibby’s (Expansion) Southern Hills (Renovation)
Hospital (Expansion) Caterpillar (Internal Expansion)
Silver Springs Storage (Expansion) West Vue (Expansion)
Mr. Dent (Expansion) CVS (New Business)
Six Sisters (Expansion) Mayfield (Expansion)
Hawkins (Relocation) Penmac (New Location)
Quality Flooring (Relocation) Circle K (Relocation)
Enterprise Car (Relocation) Christian Academy (Relocation & Expansion)
Justin Selby (Relocation) License Bureau (Relocation)
Ridge Crest (New Business & Renovation) Los Amigos (New Business)
Mo ARK Paving (New Business)
Business Licenses:(11.6% INCREASE)
2017 985
2018 990
2019 1005
2020 1099
Building Permits
2017 78 $ 9,323,000
2018 105 $16,200,000
2019 88 $46,441,000
2020 XX $XX
Quality of Life & Infrastructure Improvements:
Porter Wagner Sidewalk Flood & Storm Recovery
Detention Basins Underway Galloway Park Upgrades
Amphitheater for MSU Warning light at 63 and Gibson
Water and Electrical Meters Street Lighting replaced with LED
Police Patrol Rezoning New canines for police
Preparation for new solar farm Prep for new sub-station on west 160
New Dog Park New Police Sub Station at MSU – WP
Bridge Replacement for St. Louis New lighting in parks
Peoples Park improvements Right to turn lane to Hirsch
New intersection on south 63 New training tower for the fire department
Holiday Lane bridge replacement 10 new police vehicles
New fleet of golf carts Improvements at High school
Parkside House removed Splash Pads proceeding
Proposed Independence overpass Proposed new hospital intersection
Improvements to GOCAT Free Public Wi-Fi in Parks
Civic Center Parking Improvements
Other Items of Interest:
Secures the NJCAA II Tournament Completed County Manufacturers Directory
Attended eight Conferences Completed County Contractors Directory
Attended six trade shows Built all new website
Completed Labor & Wage Study Expanded presence on Location One
Bi- Monthly contact with 128 consultants Served on MEDC ECODEVO council
Served on BREI board Responded to eighty-four RFIs & RFPs
Marketing materials for all clusters Ads for national ED magazines
Marketing brochure for Heritage Park Quarterly Newsletters
Filled hundreds of local requests for information
Touches & Contacts through Next Move & Lighthouse Partnerships & Self Generated:
84,000 e-mails
14% Average open rate
3% click through rate
314 client visits, downloads and clicks.
Demographics:
Howell County Average Wage:
2017 $31,824
2018 $33,176
2019 $33,332
2020 $35,776
Three Year Increase of 12.4%
Population:
With 40,104 people, Howell County is the 28th most populated county in the state of Missouri out of 115 counties.
Howell County Per Capita Income
2017 $32,674
2018 $33,881
2019 $35,261
Three Year Increase of 7.9%
Howell County Median Household Income (in 2019 dollars)
Howell County Unemployment:
12/2017 3.8%
12/2018 3.4%
12/2019 4.9%
12/2020 4.4%
Howell County Deposits of all Financial Institutions insured by the FDIC
Three Year Increase of 23.2%
06/17 $ 845,000,000
06/18 $ 895,000,000
06/19 $ 922,000,000
06/20 $1,076,000,000
Sales Tax: (Fiscal Year End):
2017 $6,280,826
2018 $6,410,428
2019 $6,876,106
2020 $7,167,532
Three Year Increase of 14.1%
I believe it is safe to say that most of us were happy to not just turn the page but throw away the 2020 calendar and put up the 2021 calendar. There was so much uncertainty in 2020. COVID-19 hit hard in many parts of the world, some much worse than others.
Not everything was rainbows and sunshine we did lose J.C. Penny’s (pending 2021), SEARS, Pizza Hut and Regal Beloit. The Regal building has been filled by Favorite Fishing and great efforts are being made to fill the J.C. Penny’s location. The SEARS building will be torn down and a road built in its place to open up the property above for more retail. Most all the jobs that were lost have been absorbed by other entities.
It may be hard to find many positives that stemmed from the past year, but they are there. The innovations undertaken for the health care industry have been nothing short of phenomenal. The West Plains area has done much better than many other places in the country. This has been due to the hard work of everyone.
We still have many challenges ahead of us. Training and workforce development is and will continue to be an issue for some time to come. Our workforce is aging and we must continue to fill the labor pipeline.
As COVID continues the world is becoming more and more virtual. We are preparing to enter the virtual world with a series of 360 degree videos to be filmed this spring. Our hope being that with all the travel restrictions, if they can’t travel to us we can bring West Plains to them. It will take all of us working together to “Make It Happen Here”.
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