Noel: People help power economic development efforts

“Your tourism opportunities are amazing. Your quilt museum — I’ve met people all over the world who say they’ve either been here or heard about it. People coming creates jobs and opportunities, but it also creates a journey where people say, ‘I’m going to live there.’ And if people want to live there, they might say, ‘I want to invest there.’ ”

Among praises, Noel noted looming industrial change. He praised commonwealth investment in electric vehicles. He also covered a need for personal growth in an “economic engine we can never, ever step away from.”

“This is the biggest change since Mr. Ford put in the mass production facilities. We’re finding high-tech companies to help support that industry,” he said. “We’re in a great spot in this country to attract some of that. But you can’t have a home without a place to go, and it’s the same for any economic development initiative.”

A new approach is vital for big industry, he said. Some 400 acres in the West Paducah area speaks to that.

“The Triple Rail Site is a perfect example of a community that does it right,” he said. “Yes, there’s work to be done, but you can tell us how much and when we’re going to have it.”

“Every piece of dirt looks like every piece of dirt; that’s not the key,” he said. “You need to be able to say, ‘I’ve got everything you need, and I can tell you when you’re going to have a certificate of occupancy.’ Without those answers, you’re not really showing a site. That’s the big difference in economic development today versus 20 years ago, five years ago, three years ago.”

He supported the state’s Product Development Initiative that funds $2 million per industrial project to county applicants.

“I’m hoping the legislature says, ‘Let’s continue that $100 million (statewide) but make it more flexible,’ ” he said. “If we bring in a new company, maybe they’re funding to build multi-family housing on that property. If we can bring in a company or have a company that expands, maybe there’s a quality-of-life initiative we can help fund.”

It wasn’t the only time Noel took an intersectional approach. He mentioned recent workers he met, such as a young woman learning the hospitality trade. One was an eastern Kentucky production worker who, until last month, was in prison.

“How do we find more who find that first job a stepping stone to a better life,” he said. “We’ve got to find opportunities for every resident in Kentucky, because it truly is the key. It is all so interdependent. A collaborative process between economic development, the chamber of commerce, existing business, schools and you name it.”

He also noted concern for morale.

Out of some 45,000 state high school seniors, he said, “About 6,000 of them, we don’t even know where they go. A big chunk go to two-year colleges, but they say, ‘I have to work to go to college.’ ”

“Last year, our average wage before benefits, was $26.58 an hour,” he said. ZipRecruiter, an employment marketplace, backs that figure. “But we’re missing some yearning and need to find a better way of instilling that in our people.”

For years, Noel was a face of Whirlpool Corporation as corporate vice president of communications and public affairs. He’s also been president of the Whirlpool Foundation, a long-time Habitat for Humanity partner.

He said the company’s global projects helped broaden scope.

“It’s not the incentives that matter, it’s how they come into play,” he said. “What’s the community’s and government’s commitment for better quality-of-life? That’s the role we need to play in economic development, working with chambers and business leaders. We don’t make policies, pass legislation, or control planning and zoning. All we have is you.”

“With the successes we’ve had, we need a better roadmap and strategy for the future. And we’re going to be doing that in conjunction with all of you over the course of the next several months.”