A.D. Ibarra

-Sul Ross Univ.

 Rio Grande College

A group of UTSA representatives from the Institute for Economic Development met with community leaders, elected officials, school district, city and law enforcement personnel have been coming together to be briefed on ways to cope with sudden economic growth such as that which has been seen in the Dimmit and Zavala County area the past two years. 

Assistant Director of the Eagle Ford Shale Community Development Program, John Facey, was on hand to conduct the presentation which brought out the amazing statistic that in 2012, Eagle Ford Shale activity generated over $61 billion in economic impact and supported 116,000 jobs in a 20 county area.

"Our goal is to use effective strategic planning to diversify the economic base of the region to create vibrant, resilient and sustainable economic activities," stated Facey, "How a community such as Eagle Pass is prepared to deal with a natural energy boom of its own will be based on how proactive they are in their approach to readiness in terms of housing, medical facilities and just adapting to unpredictable change."

The workshop allows community leaders to analyze infrastructure issues such as railways, air strips and airports, housing stock to attract teachers and other professionals, transportation and streets, amenities such as new stores at the mall for domestic and international consumers and other integration ideas to capture more revenue from international shopping.