MORE BUSINESSES LOOKING TO EXPAND IN HAYS Hays Daily News Progress Edition - Sunday, March 16th, 2014 By RANDY GONZALES Aaron White often is in the know, but he often can’t let people know what he knows. Such is the job as executive director for Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development. White works on bringing new businesses to the county, but mum’s the word until the final ‘I’ is dotted and ‘T’ is crossed. “Nothing I can release,” White said recently of companies looking to expand into Hays. “I’ve got two developers; they’re site consultant groups out of Kansas City. They’re both representing two different nationals. One is representing a single national chain; the other is representing a group of three national chains that are starting to turn their eyes to the Hays market. “The only one I know anything about is the one I know who the company is. I can’t even tell you what kind of industry they are, because if I tell you that, you’ll know who it is immediately. The community would be very happy if we could get it, I can say that.” White said he also sometimes is in the position of attempting to shoot down rumors on social media, rumors that are incorrect. “It can be very challenging, particularly if you watch a lot of the online postings through social media, where folks catch a rumor of something going on,” White said. “Next thing you know, there’s 30, 40 comments on a rumor going around. “We’ll try, in general terms, try to correct inaccuracies, people’s perceptions of what’s going on, in the comments.” White works with developers, giving them different sites to look at for a franchise. “Ultimately, it comes down to they find a site, can they strike a deal that makes sense,” he said. White said there is growing interest. “There’s definitely interest here; there’s definitely some national chains that are turning their attention to the Hays market,” he said. White attributes some of that increased interest to franchises exploring smaller cities after being maxed out in larger cities. “At some point, you’re going to have to look at smaller markets, the non-traditional markets,” White said. “That’s what I think is going on.” With water becoming a scarce resource, any developer looking to expand into the county is asked about water consumption by the business. “It is definitely something we look at when we talk with folks who are looking to expand into the Hays area,” White said. “When we talk with manufacturers, one of the first questions is what is your utility consumption, particularly your water. We’ve turned down some projects because they were intensive water users.” Overall, the county is in position for further economic development. “We’re still in good shape,” White said.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:01:21 +0000
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