By Taylor Wooten
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Edinburgh is taking steps to better market its small town with Bartholomew County’s economic development corporation.
The move was discussed at a July 12 Edinburgh Town Council meeting. Counties use chambers and economic development corporations to market their municipalities to businesses and developers.
Being part of the economic development corporation would also give the town a seat at the table during development meetings, said Dan Cartwright, town manager.
Because parts of Edinburgh are in Johnson, Bartholomew and Shelby counties, the town had to choose which economic development corporation to work with.
Aspire Economic Development + Chamber Alliance, Johnson County’s economic development corporation, “very much wanted” Edinburgh to join, said Cartwright. However, it made more sense to join Bartholomew County’s corporation, also known as the Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation, he said.
“To be honest with you, even though the majority of our town is in Johnson County, I think it’s more beneficial for us to be involved in the Bartholomew County Economic Development Corporation, because all of our Industrial Park is in Bartholomew County,” Cartwright said.
This decision lines up with guidance given by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation for communities to consider their labor shed when choosing a county economic development corporation, said Amanda Rubadue, vice president of economic development for Aspire.
The Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation is expanding its reach by adding Edinburgh. The organization serves all of Bartholomew County, including Columbus and Hope. The group added the word “greater” to its title in 2016 to include more municipalities, said Jason Hester, president of the organization.
Its primary functions are to recruit businesses to the area, expand and support current businesses and advise local governments, Hester said.
The cost to join the economic development corporation is $7,000 annually. Because the town would be joining halfway through the year, the cost for this year is $3,500.
One council member had concerns about the price of the membership. However, the town council this month unanimously OKed joining.
The Greater Columbus Economic Development Corporation is member-supported, with 70% of its funding coming from business members of the corporation and 30% coming from local governments, Hester said.
The membership is annual, so it can be canceled if it does not seem fruitful after a year, said Dustin Huddleston, Edinburgh’s town attorney.
A similar situation happened before. Prior to the Johnson County economic development corporation becoming Aspire, Edinburgh was part of it. The town left the corporation because not enough attention was being put on Edinburgh, Huddleston said.
The town council will consider a contract with the Bartholomew County Economic Development Corporation at tonight’s meeting.
