The chief executive officer of the Chickasha Economic Development Council presented their annual “work plan” to the Chickasha Industrial Authority recently.
“These highlights outline what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it,” CEDC Executive Director Jim Cowan told the CIA on Aug. 12.
The EDC’s primary goals in Fiscal Year 2025-26 are to enhance and market Chickasha’s “brand,” grow the town’s tourism initiative, downtown development and revitalization, collaborate on workforce development and develop new revenue streams and financial partners.
To achieve those goals, the EDC expects to:
• Recruit new business and industry by promoting the Small Business Start-Up program, market the Chickasha Airport Industrial Park to attract new manufacturers, use trade area growth to market to retailers who are “not currently in Chickasha,” and identify “unmet needs.”
• Assist in retention and expansion of existing businesses. One plan is to meet with three local businesses every quarter to “understand needs, “identify assistance opportunities, and discuss expansions and relevant incentives.”
Another objective is to promote “Eat, Shop, Play, and Stay in Chickasha” throughout the trade area.
Other plans are to keep local businesses informed about all programs and services that are available to increase sales, reduce expenses, or “bridge other gaps,” and to work with the Small Business Development Center business incubator at Canadian Valley Technology Center to help “open and grow” more small businesses.
• Market Chickasha throughout the trade area via billboards, radio, print, television and social media. Another plan is to showcase community momentum, through the EDC website and social media, “as seen in new housing developments, Grand Avenue and Downtown.”
The EDC also intends to work with state and regional film offices to promote Chickasha’s “value to the film industry,” as demonstrated by the 2024 disaster film “Twisters” filmed in Chickasha and other Oklahoma locales.
• Among the tourism initiatives will be marketing the 15-field Sports Complex and adding a “Visit Chickasha” kiosk and signs at the facility “to activate existing traffic.” The EDC also intends to emphasize Chickasha’s “Christmas Town” identity” by promoting, for example, the annual Festival of Light, an annual event recognized as one of the top 10 holiday light shows in the nation.
• A downtown streetscape plan is projected for next June, the EDC intends to market downtown tax increment financing benefits to potential developers, and a business improvement district “to meet the growing infrastructure needs of downtown businesses and property owners” is on the drawing board for next summer.
• Partnerships with the state Commerce Department, the South Central Workforce Board and the Oklahoma Southwest Alliance will increase awareness of incentives and programs to help local businesses meet their workforce needs.
• Ideas for developing new revenue streams and financial partners are expected to be discussed at the EDC’s Sept. 9 meeting, Cowan indicated.
The CEDC is “a service provider to the CIA,” Cowan related.
The CIA receives 90% of Chickasha’s hotel/motel tax receipts; City Hall keeps 10% for administrative purposes. By ballot language, the funds are earmarked for tourism and economic development. The CIA contracts with the EDC to undertake economic development.