10-02-04 City Council Retreat Agenda

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Abilene Reporter News: Local . for more news and information from our partner sites: . ...A.;.: K:c-1V', '. FINE . . . _. LIVING di~':~.' Ii ",' . .' .. ,".~' ." . ." : - '.. ~ '"..:;,:E'.'..' r: . l. ' . ~ ~ ..~.~,.,ldo.c.cr.OI'. :~:.~.<~..~. :. ..::-:.:~..~ ~1i(t1~ . International . National . Washington . Politics . Education . Business/Economy . Science/Technology . Special Reports . Previous Local . Monday, Feb 2 . Sunday, Feb 1 . Saturday, Jan 31 . Friday, Jan 30 . Thursday, Jan 29 . Wednesday, Jan 28 . Tuesday, Jan 27 . of worker availability in the Abilene job market. The statistic captures only Taylor County. West Texans are known to drive long distances for work and pleasure. "What you'll find is we've got the folks," Smith said. "What the unemployment rate doesn't account for is the people in our employment zone - the people who would be willing to drive for the right job." Joplin, in Missouri's southwestern corner, has similar characteristics to that of Abilene. Both cities are located on a major east-west interstate. Both have institutions of higher learning. Both have the necessary infrastructure to support a call center. Both have low unemployment rates - 4.3 percent in Joplin. But Abilene's Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population may serve as an advantage in the site-selection process. Burdine said the company is looking for Spanish-speaking customer representatives and may route calls to the new center for bilingual operators. Joplin's Hispanic population is 2.5 percent vs. 19.4 percent in Abilene, according to the 2000 Census. Also, 15 percent of Abilenians speak a language other than English at home, compared to 5 percent in Joplin. Joplin economic development officials did not return phone calls Monday. The project to lure StarTek project has been four years in the making, said Bill Ehrie, Abilene Industrial Foundation president. The company was looking for a new site to meet growing demand for its business services outsourcing, including telephone-based customer care and technical support. The AIF, which markets the city to prospective industries on behalf of the DCOA, was contacted in 2000 by the site selection firm Jones Lang LaSalle. While the city didn't make the selection cut in that round, the firm kept tabs on the city and placed a call back to the AIF when StarTek needed another facility, Ehrie said. In a prior expansion, StarTek opened a call center in Big Spring, about 100 miles west of Abilene. The company received a $2.3 million earned loan from Big Spring in 1999 to set up a 30,OOO-square-foot call center. "They have a presence in the area," Ehrie said. "That's something not to falter on. ... We want to make sure to capitalize on that." Burdine said the new site is part of the company's expansion plan and should not affect the Big Spring facility. The StarTek Deal . The city would give $1.8 million in grants for site improvements, job creation and job training. . In exchange, the Denver-based company would create about 400 jobs. . Salaries for the bulk of the workers would be $7.50 to $8 an hour, htto://wwwl.reoorter-news.com/abil/nw local/article/O.1874.ABTL 7959 262541100html Page 2of3 .. fr'!~;~~ . "... . I.. . 1/:.< J"'. ", . . y' ):)~ .. . ~.::t; \ ". , ~ Itzy Bitz' PriCE LitlIe r are ah so irre,sl eSl'ecl when) talking a mOil payme a new t d& H 0 M lIB ~ ... ~.. '~ "~ >> Progress Edi )) 2003 To You )) How-To Con, >> 2003 Oil & G ), Kickoff USA )) West Texas I Rodeo >> Health Care )) Readers Chc )) Senior Resol ,) Inside Abilen )) Western Her )) ALPS Gazell )) Home & Gan )) Bridal 2003 )) Farm & Ram )) New Car Gui )) Holiday Gift ( ?/1/?OOd