The McComb city board will vote next week on whether to approve an agreement with a consultant to conduct an economic development study.
Selectmen are considering an agreement with Rick Duke, the outgoing chair of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship.
Mayor Whitney Rawlings and Duke announced at Tuesday’s work session that Duke will vacate the position at USM in June.
Duke said Tuesday he is leaving the university in part because of a transition in leadership.
USM President Martha Saunders will vacate her post on June 30. Former President Aubrey Lucas will serve as interim president.
The city will pay the university for any work Duke does before he leaves Southern Miss in June. Once he leaves, Duke will be paid the remainder of a $17,500 fee the board agreed to pay the university in February.
Duke will not be be paid with city funds. Instead, he will be paid out of funds provided by an unnamed private benefactor.
If Duke takes another job during the study, the remaining portion of the money will not be paid.
“I want to keep my options open,” Duke said. “I can’t tell you that if an opportunity comes up three months from now, I wouldn’t be inclined to accept the offer.”
Rawlings met Duke at a conference in October 2011, and Duke discussed the focus of the study with selectmen in February. The study will include a series of meetings with the board and community leaders to develop a plan for economic development.
“I told (Duke) the only way this would work is with him leading it,” Rawlings said. “He likes McComb and he likes what he sees here.”
Duke said he will play a vital role in the project.
“There’s no one else at the university. I am the Trent Lott Center,” Duke said, adding that the center’s marketing coordinator is out, and though there are three faculty members, they have different skill sets.
Among the city’s selling points, Duke has cited:
• Its location — 100 miles from New Orleans, 80 miles from Jackson and 75 from Hattiesburg with three exits on Interstate 55 and access to Highway 98.
• A railroad hub and an Amtrak stop with access to New Orleans and Chicago.
• A state park with lodging and a golf course.
• The city’s status as a retail trade and health care center for southwest Mississippi.
• A community college.
• Lodging and restaurants.
• The Pike County Economic Development District and the grants it makes to education and economic development.
• Proximity to several major universities, including USM, LSU, Tulane, the University of New Orleans, Jackson State and Alcorn State universities.
• Natural beauty with rivers and topography for ecotourism.
The initial plan also called for graduate student participation. Duke said access to those students will not change, and he said he knows an “exceptional student” who is willing to help.
