Everest Serves As A Strong Hub For Economic Development In Our County

The graduation at Base Camp Coding Academy was an amazing day. Twenty-three students from across north Mississippi completed the year-long program to become software developers. Graduates from prior classes shared about their careers. C Spire CEO Hu Meena and Congressman Bennie Thompson shared advice for the future. Proud parents and grandparents filled the room and the cameras were clicking.

Everest has been an asset to this community in so many ways, but before we get started let’s have a refresher. The building, Everest, is Mississippi’s First Rural Education and Innovation Hub. Everest is owned by Base Camp Coding Academy, a non-profit organization that launched in 2016 to create a pipeline for under-advantaged high school graduates in Mississippi to access careers in software development.

Everest houses the classroom space for Base Camp Coding Academy. Everest also houses another partner, Northwest Mississippi Community College (NWCC). The college occupies 18,000 square feet of space in the building utilized for adult education, career and technical programs, non-credit workforce training and healthcare training opportunities for students in the county and beyond. Everest also serves as a business-incubator for small, tech companies.

During the last year another shingle was added to the front of the building, Yalobusha County Economic Development. Economic development director Kagan Coughlin’s office is located in Everest and the building has become a hub for economic development in the county.

Although the focus Saturday morning was on the students who completed the intense, year-long program, the event was also another example of the strong networking that has become synonymous at Everest. Community leaders including all three mayors in the county, supervisors, alderpersons and state officials attended. There was a little time for a few officials to meet with Congressman Thompson before and after the commencement as ideas were shared and projects discussed.

The engagement at Everest during the last year for different meetings and workshops has been big. Leaders from the national and state level have made frequent trips to Water Valley. Everest and Base Camp is a motivational story that people want to see and experience.

Last month the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a USDA Rural Partnership Network grant writing workshop. Leaders from seven counties attended, as well as all of the state-level USDA officials and one leader from Washington D.C. The Rural Partnership Network was launched by USDA last year and allows Yalobusha County and partners first-crack at many federal funding opportunities.

Coughlin is the catalyst who helps bring all of the moving parts together. He is always reluctant to accept credit for projects he champions, but I can tell you he has a lot going on. Let’s look at a few of his projects:

• A back-up electric substation in Water Valley to help minimize downtime if there is another city-wide power outage. Tallahatchie Electric Power Association has agreed to provide power to the backup substation, and the hospital, Solero and the entire city could run from the alternate power source.

• Working with the new owners of the Coffeeville Piggly Wiggly to submit a grant to USDA for funding to help with start-up expenses. The grocery store was shuttered last year, and updating some of the equipment inside including coolers and kitchen equipment could be a huge boost. If approved, the grant would fund around 40 percent of the project cost.

• Working on multiple fronts on the old Oakland school building located on Hwy. 51 just south of the municipality. This work includes environmental studies and possible remediation, submitting an application to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places and marketing the building to a property developer for renovation for a housing project.

• Working on the Coffeeville Industrial Park. The Town of Coffeeville owns almost 70 acres that are prime for development. The planned work would come in multiple phases that includes both industrial and residential development.

• Working on improvements in the Water Valley industrial park that includes due diligence for future development. This includes numerous studies (wetlands and endangered species, etc.), boxes that all have to be checked before new access roads and future development can occur. All of this work is expensive, and Coughlin has submitted multiple grant applications to different agencies, funding that could push the million dollar mark. Representative Tommy Reynolds also secured $100,000 for the work at the industrial park during the 2023 legislative session.

• Working on a fast-charging station for electric vehicles in Water Valley. The charging station would be grant-funded, and owned by the City of Water Valley. There is a not a charging station in this area, and the idea is to attract motorists on Hwy. 7 who would stop in town for a charge and, hopefully, a little shopping.

• And the biggest project, a long-term and lofty goal. The Lake District Partnership (Yalobusha and Grenada counties) Rural Partnership Network has identified the expansion of Hwy. 7 as its signature project. The goal is to create a true industrial corridor from Interstate 55 to Oxford. The Lake District dedicated USDA funds to hire an expert to help submit a proposal for a RAISE transportation grant. This federal grant has been awarded three times in Mississippi. The Hwy. 7 expansion is a big endeavor, $100 million-plus in total project costs, and Yalobusha County will be pushing this project in partnership with Grenada County and USDA support.