Don't hold your breath

It didn't take long for the phones to start ringing Thursday when word began leaking out about the passage of two economic incentive bills designed to help the Shoals land a 1,500-plus job industry.

Callers have been told the bills, which will likely lead to us paying a half-cent more in sales tax, will help us close the deal with a boxcar manufacturing company. As you might expect, the callers all wanted to know the answer to the same question. Do we have the plant now?

The short answer is no. Intense negotiations are continuing, just as they have been for the better part of eight months. And they have been complex, to say the least.

One person in Montgomery said it has been the most exhausting, stressful project he has ever been involved with since he started working for the state. Based on expressions you see these days on the faces of officials with the Shoals Economic Development Authority and other officials, it's likely they feel the same.

Will their work and persistence pay off? Anything can still happen and it's not a deal until the ink dries, but my guess is that we will have something to celebrate soon. The stars, at last, appear to be aligning perfectly.

There won't likely be an announcement this week or the next. But hang on.

One thing is for sure: A lot of people have worked extremely hard on this project. Our area has answered the challenge of working together and delivering on the goods needed to land this project.

Gov. Bob Riley and economic development officials in Montgomery have been fighting every round in our corner. And the area's partnership with the Retirement Systems of Alabama on the tourism project has been important in this new courtship.

If we land the plant, the economic impact we will feel in the Shoals could be greater than Reynolds, Ford and many other huge operations we have seen in our history. No, it wouldn't top the Tennessee Valley Authority influence, but it will be big.

Perhaps that is why we have heard very little resistance from the public. Most tax increases would have some people ready to lynch the nearest legislator, mayor, commissioner or council member who played a role in the hike.

The approach to this one has been calm. Perhaps most everyone sees the benefit of Project Tiger, the name assigned to the endeavor.

Most Shoals residents don't realize it, but our community is being held up throughout Alabama and in Washington as a model for what's possible when an area wants to help itself.

If we don't get the project, which is always a possibility, it will be interesting to see if attitudes change.

It's one thing to pay an extra half-cent for something tangible; it's another thing to pay it for a hope of getting the next one.

With any kind of luck, that won't be a consideration.

Mike Goens is the TimesDaily managing editor. He can be reached at 740-5740 or mike.goens@timesdaily.com.