August 1st Update
August 1st, 2025
Mr. Wayne Mays - wmays@hammrc.com
Farmington Chamber Energizing Economic Development (EED)
Farmington Chamber of Commerce Leaders Complete Economic Development Training
Front Row L to R: Nancy Woodward, Kevin Gardenhire, and Tracy Nelson
Middle Row L to R: Michelle Tabor (Chamber CEO), Josh Frye, Nathan Smith, and Daniel Robertson
Back Row L to R: James Depew (AEP/SWEPCO), Shanda Hunter (AEP/SWEPCO), Sandy Anderson (PGTelco), Wayne Mays (HAMMRC Executive Director)
Not Pictured: Nate Schultz
Chamber Considers Intentional Economic Development
By: Lynn Kutter
Farmington - Board members with Farmington Chamber of Commerce have completed an online course to help them learn more about economic development for the city of Farmington.
The Chamber and Heartland Advanced Medical Manufacturing Regional Cluster, commonly called HAMMRC, recently recognized the community leaders for completing the course on their own time. Those who take the course receive a certificate of completion that identifies them as an “official champion for economic development.”
The course, called Energizing Economic Development, is offered free by Southwestern Electric Power Co., and is designed for community leaders in the SWEPCO service area to provide them with “tools to help make the local economic development process even more successful in your community.”
The City of Farmington is a charter member of Heartland Advanced Medical Manufacturing Regional Cluster, referred to as HAMMRC, a regional organization created to try to bring medical manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Highway 62 corridor.
Wayne Mays, director of HAMMRC, said board members were encouraged to take the course by him and Michelle Tabor, CEO and president of Farmington Chamber, who took the course herself.
Mays said the Chamber board members are people who are engaged in the community in various ways but unless they are exposed to some information on economic development they can’t be expected to know about it.
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Mays said. “Once they see how much needs to be done, then they can feel an urgency about it.”
Mays said his goal is that the Chamber board members will select one or two projects to accomplish so they can see immediate success.
One overall goal for economic development, Mays said, is to provide “environmentally clean, safe, sustainable manufacturing and good-paying jobs for Farmington High School graduates.”
The course provides a clear, step-by-step guide that local leaders can implement, he said.
Josh Frye, chairman of the chamber board, said one of the challenges of economic development in a small town is that the city government does not have paid staff to work on it.
He said the course discussed business retention, incentives for businesses, staying in touch with businesses and developing relationships.
The course provided more insight into what actions to take and when to take them, Frye said.
“I think it’s a great playbook, especially for a small community,” he added.
He admitted it can be daunting because of the time involved.
“It’s easy to sit around and come up with ideas and come up with action plans,” he said, but noted then the action plans have to be implemented.
Frye said the Chamber set it as a goal for every board member to complete the economic development course.
“The Chamber has grown, and we want to take more of a front seat in economic development for the city,” he said. “We want to position ourselves as a partner with the city.”
Frye said the Chamber’s goal to partner with the city dovetails with city and community leaders working on a 10-year strategic action plan.
“I love the perspective of building our community with a plan in mind,” Frye said.
The online course is taught by Alyssa Cook. According to the SWEPCO website, Cook has trained thousands of elected officials, economic development and chamber professionals, community leaders, leadership groups and volunteers since 1993. She develops strategic plans and programs designed to grow communities, improve organizations and achieve goals.
The Chamber Board is the second organization to take the online course. Community leaders in Lincoln attended two in-person sessions to complete the economic development course in 2024. The city of Lincoln also is a member of Heartland Advanced Medical Manufacturing Regional Cluster.
Courtesy of Washington County Enterprise-Leader. July 23rd 2025.
Energizing Economic Development (EED) - Link Embedded
The Long Game #4: Community Permitting Checklist
Folks who have completed the online course on "Energizing Economic Development will recognize this topic as one of the preparatory steps needed to be ready for a prospect. With credit to the AEP/SWEPCO course materials, here are some steps to become an "Easy-to-do-business-with" community.
-Work with City officials to create a streamlined permitting process; eliminate unnecessary costs and barriers
-Make your process predictable and consistent
-List your permit requirements online for ease of reference
-Create simplified applications
-Establish 7–14-day permit reviews
-Create a permit/code developer checklist
-Strive for customer service excellence
-Train officials who understand the reasons behind the requirement (don't ever say "it's just our rule")
-Be sure your team is friendly and nimble (try to avoid ever saying "we can't do that.")
-Establish ONE-STOP SHOP development services (this saves folks trips and time required to go from office to office)
-Provide small business assistance (they have small staffs and may be inexperienced, but they are creating jobs)
-Solicit developer feedback for continuous improvement (listen to local developers/builders who use your services frequently)
-Set up a "Permit Portal" on your website to allow: viewing permit information and records; applications for building permits; submission of subdivision proposals, rezoning petitions, viewing of applications, status and reviews, scheduling, cancelling and reviewing inspection results, paying invoices and re-inspection fees, and submitting, viewing, printing of permits, plans and documents
Remember: The process is truly more about avoiding site ELIMINATION than about site SELECTION.
Upcoming Events:
July 15th - October 1st - Cherokee Nation Film Dept. shooting interviews of HAMMRC leaders and videos of HAMMRC cities, sites, and signage for marketing video project.
September 12th - Board meeting at (TBA)
November 14th - Annual Board meeting at (TBA)