This is the latest installment in our Main Street NC series from the 瓜神app Politics Podcast. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the positives going on in their towns, and the challenges they face, from storm damage to gentrification.
The Beaufort County town of Aurora, population 450, is one of a number of rural communities staking their economic futures on industrial park developments designed to attract employers.
Longtime Mayor Clif Williams has been working for years on a 25-acre industrial park that will bring more jobs and a community college campus to the town that's seen a declining population 鈥� despite a thriving phosphate mine nearby that employs hundreds of people.
Thanks to grants and other funding, paved roads and utilities are in place, and construction on the first buildings will begin in the coming months. Williams pointed out the infrastructure in a tour of the site.
"Most of your wastewater treatment plants cost millions of dollars 鈥� ours feeds on itself," he explained. "It's all done by plants and algae. The only thing we do have to do is add a little bit of chlorine as (the treated wastewater) exits the facility down here."
Economic development experts say the industrial park development is the right approach. Companies are looking at sites that already have the infrastructure they need, so simply putting a for-sale sign on an empty field is no longer enough to attract industry.
"Really, if you don't have that product, then there's no sense in going forward, no matter how great you think your community is," said Garrett Wyckhoff of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
Developing that product isn鈥檛 as easy as it might seem. Even before building an industrial site, costly site studies are needed, according to Susan Squires, economic development director for Beaufort County.
"All of those studies are necessary before you even start to think about laying the water, sewer or even running electrical to a park," she said.
Squires is excited that after years of planning, the Aurora Industrial Park is finally coming to life. She says having a Beaufort Community College satellite campus on the site will help locals train for jobs at the phosphate mine and other local industries.
"Having that satellite campus will not only provide customized training within just a few minutes from Nutrien (phosphate mine), but it's going to provide ESL and GED and adult learning opportunities for the people of Aurora and the Richland Township," she said. "I think that is most definitively something that's attractive to a company, to know that we will be supporting them through their workforce efforts, with continual training right around the corner."
For now, the hub of activity in Aurora's sleepy historic downtown is the Aurora Fossil Museum. The museum shows off fossils found in the massive phosphate mine a few miles up the road along the Pamlico River. Visitors, which often include school groups, can dig for their own finds in fossil pits across from the museum.
Visitors also watch a promotional video produced by Nutrien, which runs the phosphate mine producing raw materials used in fertilizer. The company helps sponsor the museum, as well as other initiatives in town.
While the phosphate mine鈥檚 hundreds of employees make it one of the largest employers in Beaufort County, most of those workers are commuting long distances from nearby towns. The town of Aurora鈥檚 leaders and business owners are looking for ways to create more economic activity that stays local.
Beverly Horvath, better known as Crabby Bev, opened the Blue Crab Boutique a few years ago in a vacant building that once housed a funeral home. She sells local art and gifts to visitors who are here to check out the Fossil Museum next door.
Horvath recently got a small grant award to add ice cream to her business, which is now also known as the Scoop Sloop thanks to some nautical d茅cor.
"There are people working on grants to fix up Main Street, and it's a historic district, so that's something that we can promote," she said. "We just need people to actually be interested in fixing up their buildings. That's not easy."
Aurora is making progress, even aside from the industrial park. The Fossil Museum has plans to expand, a new produce and grocery market is in the works for a shuttered Family Dollar, and a medical clinic will reopen soon. But the town was dealt a setback in January when the only bank in town announced its plans to close.
"Having to drive 20 miles" to make a deposit is a big concern, Horvath said, "so you're losing money just to put money in the bank, and there's so many people that live local that only walk or they ride their golf carts and go to the bank."
To hear more about the Aurora Industrial Park and the town鈥檚 other plans to reverse its population losses, 瓜神app sat down with Mayor Clif Williams at his industrial supply business.
NOTE: This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How did the idea for the industrial park here get started?
"I knew my town was in a position where it was declining and the population was aging out, and people were not coming back that had left Aurora. We don't want to give up on where we grew up, and if it continues the way it is, it's not going to be here. So it's always been, how do we find a solution to keeping this community intact?
"We've got to grow this community first and create commerce before anything's going to happen. So we packaged an idea, sold it to the state Golden LEAF (Foundation), and fortunately for us, they have stayed on course with us and helped us."
Practically speaking, what kind of infrastructure are you having to put in the ground to get to where businesses are ready to move in?
"We've had to put in water, sewer, high-speed internet, underground wires for electrical wire. We've had to put in a pump station, a sewer lift station. We got a central holding pond for to catch anything that falls off of your property. The other thing was, I wanted all the buildings to be attractive. You could build a metal building if you wanted to, but you have to have a brick or a stone fa莽ade on the front of it."
What's the role of the community college facility in this project?
"I think having a community college here gives a lot of locals a chance to get an education or an education specific to advancing at Nutrien and other places. If Nutrien wants you to have welding experience, they're going to teach welding. If they need diesel mechanics, they'll make that available."
Is there a hope that the Fossil Museum and some of the other things happening in the downtown can bring more life to that area as well?
"We have just gotten our historic (district) designation that we've been working on for 20-some years now. Our waterfront is going to be a key part of our future. We've got plans to redesign the end of Main Street to have places for boats to come in, have restaurants downtown. From there, we're going to have a little golf cart area so that if you come in by boat, you can rent a golf cart and ride around town. I've got some earmark money from the state, enough to redevelop my waterfront, and plus we've got a lot of other grant money."
What drives you to work towards the future of Aurora, and stay in town and keep your business here?
"I got my business here, and that's been my livelihood for a long time. It was my father's, I don't want to fail for him. He was the best teacher I ever had in the world. ... And for this community, I love the people here. I know everybody, and they've put their faith in me, and I sure don't want to let them down."
