Economic development officials in Macon County say the new Southwestern Community College campus planned for a tract near Franklin will facilitate the installation of fiber optic cable that they hope will help attract new businesses to the area.

The cable will provide for faster, more reliable Internet connectivity and is being installed through a partnership with Drake Enterprises. At first, the cable will provide high-speed access to government operations and will later be offered to the general public, said Economic Development Commission Chairman Sam Fiske.

This project is just one of many that the EDC hopes will help attract professional, technical and scientific growth to the area.

Statistics have shown that more traditional businesses such as manufacturing are on the decline, something for which the North American Free Trade Agreement is responsible, Fiske said. NAFTA was passed in 1993.

According to U.S. Census Bureau findings, there were 1,458 manufacturing jobs in Macon County in 1998, but that number dropped to 963 by 2001 with the closing of three plants. Construction jobs, however, increased from 976 in 1998 to 1,357 in 2001; and professional, scientific and technical jobs slightly increased from 176 positions to 188.

Just before Christmas, one of Macon’s largest manufacturing employers, Chicago Rawhide, announced that it would be shutting its doors in about a year, citing lower profit margins at the plant and too little work to sustain the number of plants the company has. The closing will cost 180 people their jobs, workers who the Employment Security Commission says have limited options in the region. Caterpillar manufactures many of the same products as Chicago Rawhide but is not hiring, said Haynes Snider, assistant manager at the ESC’s Franklin office.

The company’s decision to leave might come as a mixed blessing, as the EDC already is investigating using the vacated building to attract another business or to facilitate the expansion of an existing business.

“Eighty percent of jobs are created by existing businesses,” Fiske said.

Fiske was unable to supply information regarding how many jobs indeed have been created in Macon County over the course of the past year. But it appears that jobs would best be found in the retail sector, as the EDC has been in negotiations to bring in additional shopping plazas, find locations for large-scale retailers and orchestrating land development, Fiske said. Retail held relatively steady from 1998 to 2001 with the number of jobs only decreasing from 239 to 237 and the number of employers decreasing by 15.

Fiske said no specific programs exists to attract such businesses. Rather, the EDC responds to requests and scouts potential employers, then brings their recommendations to the county commissioners. In the five or so years that Fiske said he has been on the EDC, the commissioners have approved all of the group’s recommendations.

“We’re here, we’re available, we have a great work force,” Fiske said.