Chelsea one of 30 communities to participate in Economic Development Academy

Last year, the Alabama League of Municipalities created an Economic Development Academy and accepted 30 communities from throughout the state.

When Councilman Chris Grace brought the idea to the Chelsea mayor and council, they were eager to be a part of the project.

Since 1935, the league has worked to strengthen municipal government through advocacy, training and the advancement of effective local leadership. The academy is customized for municipal officials using a team model and requires the participation of the city’s mayor (or another designated elected or administrative official) and at least two council members.

ALM Executive Director Greg Cochran said the league is excited to provide training to local leaders that is specifically designed to help them further understand best practices when recruiting and retaining industry.

“Our mission at the league is to ensure that we are providing intentional opportunities that will allow Alabama’s municipalities to be places where citizens want to live, work, play and prosper and businesses want to invest,” Cochran said.

Mayor Tony Picklesimer said he is excited about participating in the league and to have four of the five council members taking part. The group attended orientation Nov. 1 in Montgomery.

The academy will take place over a year, and four statewide training sessions will be at local community colleges in January, April, July and September. Region 2, which includes Chelsea, will meet at Lawson State Community College and at both Jefferson State Community College campuses.

In addition to the training sessions, the groups have to conduct an economic vitality survey of their communities and complete a community assessment/project. At the end of the program, graduates will be presented a certificate of municipal economic development from ALM and the ACCS.

Chelsea and Columbiana are the only two cities from Shelby County in this inaugural class. Other communities participating include Alexander City, Bessemer, Center Point, Centreville, Coffeeville, Elba, Enterprise, Gadsden, Geneva, Good Hope, Guin, Hartselle, Irondale, Lipscomb, Monroeville, Mount Vernon, Oneonta, Opp, Ozark, Pike Road, Scottsboro, Selma, Tallassee, Tarrant, Thomasville, Trussville, Tuskegee and Union Springs.

The cities were divided into four regions, and Chelsea is in Region 2, or the Birmingham-metro area, along with Bessemer, Center Point, Irondale, Lipscomb, Tarrant and Trussville.

The Chelsea City Council had to submit three goals it hoped to accomplish from being a part of the program, which were:

► To establish goals for the Chelsea community with regard to economic development to include strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

► To discover opportunities for economic growth for the city of Chelsea.

► To manage the development of U.S. 280 in a way to be more proactive than reactive.

Grace said the goal is to move Chelsea away from being a bedroom community to a holistic city. Approximately 80% of the city’s working population commutes into Birmingham to work. However, the paradigm has shifted post-pandemic, with many people now working from home or working a hybrid schedule.

“In the past 18 months, our daytime population has definitely been higher,” Grace said. “The business park is part of this overall momentum. We’ve got to have more office buildings and daytime occupations in our city to help us move into this model.

With the 2020 U.S. Census putting Chelsea just shy of 15,000 residents, Grace said the growth will have restaurants and other businesses taking notice.

“It's really about quality of life and helping us make good decisions,” Grace said. “We are right on the verge of making some good decisions … or some bad decisions, with respect to economic development and the growth of our city. It's happening so fast.”

Picklesimer said because the city of Chelsea doesn’t employ an economic development director, 58 INC. Director of Development Melody Whitten will be joining the group for the academy.

“The more we know, the better we can work together recruiting new businesses to our city,” Pickleimser said.