Robbinsville – Graham County is looking at 93 new jobs created in the area by existing and newly-arrived businesses, according to a report from Mountain West Partnership, a firm contracted to handle economic development for the county.
The Sylva-based firm said the jobs could be created over the next three years and are pending announcement.
Business investment in Graham County over the next three years is estimated at $41.1 million, the firm said in a report presented to the Graham County Board of Commissioners at its Nov. 15 meeting.
Josh Carpenter, director at Mountain West Partnership, said Graham County has added 174 people to its labor force, decreasing the county’s jobless rate from 7 percent to 5.3, and raising the workforce number from 2,873 to 3,047.
Other news and notes
* The Board of Commissioners voted to add one more seat on the Graham County Travel & Tourism Board of Directors. Dale Wiggins, who steps down as a county commissioner in December, has been a member of the Travel & Tourism board, and the additional seat will provide Wiggins an opportunity to remain on the board, for which he has been chairman and a very active member. The decision brings the number of seats on the board to nine.
* The board approved $10,000 to go to repairs to the gymnasium at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center. Part of the building has been renovated as a community kitchen. The remainder of the building needs repairs to its roof, rock work, windows and other structural elements.
* The board postponed a decision on a resolution supporting the establishment of local county laws extending deer gun hunting season on private property. The idea, proposed by commissioners in Clay County, could conflict with bear hunting season, and county staff will look into the issue in more detail.