Parish well-positioned when economy rebounds

The state of the economy in St. Mary Parish was on the minds of those in attendance at Tuesday’s Franklin Rotary Club meeting and on hand to provide some details about the current situation was an individual in a unique position to enlighten an engaged audience.
And while St. Mary Parish Director of Economic Development Frank Fink did not gloss over some of the issues facing the community, he also said the situation was not all doom and gloom. Fink said the parish was well positioned to take advantage when the economy rebounds.
Fink told Rotary Club members and their special guests, the St. Mary Chamber Leadership Class, the parish has suffered a loss with the downturn in the energy sector.
“We want to talk about some of the specifics going on with St. Mary Parish at the moment,” Fink said. “We are all aware the price of oil has dropped. The price is up, as of this morning, to $36 a barrel which is a positive sign but over the last year, we lost over 1,300 jobs. This is the worst it’s been in my time here but we are hoping to see some improvement next year.”
Fink said the current problem revolved around the glut of supply, overproduction and other nations contributing to the oversupply of the world’s stockpile of oil.
“It really is a geo-political situation,” Fink said. “Iran brought in more oil. The United States brought in more oil. All that oil has to go somewhere. China’s economy slowed down. But there are some good things going on.”
According to literature provided by Fink, there are four main concepts that position St. Mary Parish to be economically successful in the future.
One of them is education. The literature cites the parish as a place that provides “a trained workforce through schools that offer industry-responsive programs in robotics, diving, welding and mechanical technologies. Our maritime facilities are 100 percent Coast-Guard certified. We are the strongest parish in the region in year-over-year academic improvement.”
Another important concept to remember that the parish has going for it, according to Fink, is the presence of business figures with a forward-thinking attitude.
The literature stated, “Innovation, reinvention, creativity and ambition are born and nurtured here. Entrepreneurial by birth, most of our major economic drivers were founded right here including Oceaneering, Swift Ships, Hi-Tech Steel and Conrad Industries.”
A third concept revolves around attempts to take advantage of the area’s natural resources and establish sources of clean energy to supply electricity. Fink said efforts are underway to create southern Louisiana’s first wind farm.
“We are working on putting in two 50 megawatt wind farms,” Fink said. “That’s an $80 million investment in our parish.”
The fourth concept will rely upon infrastructure already in place in the parish and which is just waiting for companies to take advantage of in the future.
The literature stated, “St. Mary Parish is an economic powerhouse: a hub for the oil and gas industry; a major center of fabrication and heavy equipment manufacturing; an important base for some of the principal agricultural and seafood businesses in the state and a leader in emerging high-tech fields including robotics, machining and green technologies.”
Fink also mentioned several retail developments and new restaurants that are in the works. He also said there were plans for a new department store and pharmacy and the need to develop housing to put a roof over the heads of people who might move to the area while the groundwork is being laid for the economic revival of the region.