For many people, the start of a new year kindles a fair bit of introspection and prioritizing. Businesses too, while unlikely to make trite dietary resolutions, will look ahead and set new objectives and fresh goals.
With this in mind, Savannah Morning News reached out to local business organizations for their 2014 wishlists, asking what sorts of things they’d like to see happen or challenges they’ve identified for the coming year.
Here are their responses:
David Paddison, chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority
1) 2014 is the year I would like to see work begin on our harbor deepening — The state has funded their portion, and I would like to see the federal government appropriate the funds necessary for work to begin.
2) 2014 would be a good year to get rid of the inventory tax on manufacturing. It is time for our city and other municipalities to adopt the Freeport exemption that we have in Chatham County. The inventory tax on manufacturing has cost us projects and made it difficult for the expansion of existing businesses. Bottom line is the tax is a job killer for Savannah.
3) I would like to see our region develop a coordinated strategy to promote the film and digital media industry. Atlanta has figured it out, and it is now a multibillion dollar industry. Savannah has a storied history as a movie town, but we are not making the highest and best use of the generous incentives that are available.
4) I would love to see a 1,000-plus job project select the Mega Site in 2014. We have had lots of interest in this site for the last 10 years, and it is time to give Mitsubishi some company. Why haven’t we landed the big one? See number two above.
Joseph Marinelli, president of Visit Savannah
1) Extended stays for visitors — Currently, the “average length-of-stay” for travelers to Savannah is about 2.5 days. As Savannah’s product changes (new hotels, restaurants, attractions, retail, etc.), our goal is to convince visitors to stay longer while they’re here and, in turn, increase their overall spending in the market.
2) Continuous air service growth — As we all know, JetBlue begins service from New York and Boston to Savannah in February. We hope they are extremely successful and that success helps to generate the attention of other low-cost carriers for expansion into the Savannah/Hilton Head marketplace. In the same vein, we hope the new American Airlines (merger with US Airways) will be beneficial to us locally with increased flights and lower fares.
3) “It’s a good time to be a foodie” — A local Savannah entrepreneur said that to us recently, and we couldn’t agree more. With the recent success of the new Savannah Food & Wine Festival and the promise of a number of new restaurants opening in the coming months, we’re hoping Savannah’s emerging “foodie culture” continues to evolve and culinary tourism grows in the New Year.
Ruel Joyner, president of the Savannah Downtown Business Association
1) I wish for the Mayor’s Roundtable recommendations to be implemented.
2) I wish for the inventory tax to be looked at and rolled back. Georgia is one of the last nine states that still collects this.
3) I wish Savannah would utilize the fiber optics that are already in the ground for our citizens and build infrastructure to attract more small businesses within the technology sector.
Tony O’Reilly, president of the Small Business Assistance Corporation
1) We want Congress to pass pending legislation that will allow small business owners to refinance their commercial real estate loans through the U.S. Small Business administration(SBA) 504 Loan Program. This legislation will enable SBAC and local banks to help small businesses free up capital to expand operations.
2) SBAC is keeping our fingers crossed that the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) of the Department of Treasury will award our grant request for to $1.4 million to create a small business revolving loan fund for financing business in underserved markets and distressed commercial corridors of Savannah. The request was submitted in December, and we expect word by the end of March.
3) We hope to work closely with the city of Savannah to implement their small business development loan program. The program will assist small businesses with loans and technical assistance so they can create and retain jobs in Savannah, especially for low- to moderate-income people.
Bea Wray, executive director of The Creative Coast
Here are things we hope for in 2014:
1) A burgeoning local angel investment community thrilled to share primarily their business acumen and, secondarily, their capital to ignite entrepreneurial organizations.
2) Corporate support of events like FastPitch and Geekend so we can give out more prize money and attract amazing speakers.
3) By Christmas of 2014, Santa’s red suit will make hundreds of Savannah children think about an amazing TEDx talk they have seen, even if only online.
Chip Kreps, executive director of the Savannah Area Realtors and Savannah Multi-List Corporation
1) The Biggert-Waters act of 2012 is forcing dramatic changes to the National Flood Insurance Program in the form of potentially huge premium increases and the loss of subsidies which have been in place for decades.
We here at Savannah Area Realtors (with 1,400 members), along with representatives from all other southeastern coastal states, are committed to having this legislation either nullified, or significantly amended to protect the citizens of our state and our region.
To that end, we have local realtors serving on national committees charged with addressing this issue, and it will be the primary focus of our legislative efforts in 2014 and beyond.
2) Secondly, Savannah-area Realtors will continue our history of supporting various Community Service/Charitable projects such as Picnic in the Park, Blood Drives, Safe Shelter, etc. We encourage other business, professional and nonprofit groups to join with us in these efforts.
Curtis Foltz, Executive Director, Georgia Ports Authority
1) Congressional passage of the Water Resources Development Act. The bill officially updates Savannah Harbor Expansion Project costs to current estimates, which will allow both state and federal dollars to flow to the port deepening.
2) An additional $35 million in state funds for the port deepening. Gov. Nathan Deal has announced plans to include the new funding in his 2014 budget request to the General Assembly, which will bring the total state allotment to $266 million – fulfilling the state’s portion of project costs.
3) Significant progress on the Jimmy Deloach Parkway extension. With the help of the state Department of Transportation, we will see the completion of the Jimmy Deloach Parkway extension by the spring of 2016. This will provide a direct truck route between I-95 and Garden City Terminal.
Business reporter Mary Carr Mayle contributed to this report