By Crystal McGough
PINSON – The Pinson City Council unanimously approved a motion Thursday, Oct. 21, to enter into a professional services agreement with Government Partnership Solutions, Inc., an organization that provides professional consultant services in retail recruitment.
“The best thing that you’ve got going for you is it is a ground-floor opportunity because you need just about everything from hardware stores to Dollar Trees to everything else that goes along with it,” Greg Morris of Government Partnership Solutions said. “… There’s going to be a push to bring retail to this area where it’s safe and there’s ample land.”
Morris said that there are a couple problems with the ample land: water/flood issues and the lack of sewer.
“It’s a real problem, but there’s opportunities,” he said. “… There are opportunities here because we have so much property, but we have to get the sewers in place in order to make it work.”
The contract is for $37,500 for one year of services, with $23,100 paid up front and then $1,200 monthly after that.
Morris said that there will be a retail convention in Las Vegas in May 2022, which he, the mayor and council members can go to in order to solicit new businesses for the city.
“It’s going to be where every retailer in America basically shows up and you’ve got to have 10 minutes of their time, 15 minutes of their time,” he said. “You’ve got to get in there and sell your product and get out of their way. Part of the upfront stuff is you’re going to be getting meetings set in December and January for May.”
During pre-council, Mayor Joe Cochran and the council had an opportunity to work through any questions or concerns they had regarding the agreement with Morris. One concern mentioned was the state of the economy.
“I tend to agree with (Mayor Cochran) that if we don’t start this now, when are we going to start?” Councilor Brad Walker said. “If we don’t start now, we are going to be behind and I would rather be ahead of everybody else that says, ‘Hey you know what, we’re going to hold off on our pursuit of businesses until the economy gets better.’ I’d rather be in that position already and be ahead of the other cities around us.”
Upcoming Pinson Events:
- 6 – Trade Days
- 11 – Veterans Day Luncheon, Drive Through
- 7 – Christmas Parade and tree lighting
The next meeting of the Pinson City Council will be Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, at Pinson City Hall. Pre-council begins at 6:15 p.m. and the regular meeting begins at 7 p.m.