By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – On the heels of the new retail shopping area beginning construction, Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan announced on Tuesday that he has hired longtime local businessman John Smith as his first economic development director.
Drennan added the position to the city budget for fiscal year 2014 and has been considering several possibilities for the job over the last few months. He said the start of construction for the Fremaux Town Center should be the spark the city needs to start seeing serious business growth in Slidell, and marked the right time for the city to have an economic development director who could devote more time to bringing new business to Slidell.
“I have said for a long time that when the Town Center got started, it would be a barometer for economic growth in Slidell,” Drennan said. “And right now, I see the barometer going up.”
Smith is being paid $2,000 a month for the city as a contract employee, guaranteeing the city a minimum of 40 hours a month. He said he initially plans to meet with existing business owners to ensure they are satisfied here, before he launches into other areas that he hopes will bring new business.
Smith said that he and Drennan have also discussed the possibility of re-developing some of the large tracts of land in Slidell that were built as shopping areas, but have been largely abandoned in recent years.
He pointed out three large shopping areas in Slidell that will be considered for redevelopment, mentioning the Slidell Factory Outlet store area at the intersection of Old Spanish Trail and I-10; the old shopping area on Hwy. 11 at the intersection of I-12; and the John Jay Shopping Center on Pontchartrain Drive.
“While we do have a challenge in limited large tracts of land in the city, we have some large shopping areas that were built many years ago, and now they are pretty much abandoned,” Drennan said. “We believe any of them could be re-developed into something new.”
The mayor said he believed the time was right to hire an economic development director for the city now that the Town Center is under construction, aiming for a spring, 2014 opening.
“I believe things are starting to open up for our city now,” Drennan said. “With the Town Center underway, we’re having more contacts from businesses interested in the Fremaux corridor, as well as Slidell in general.”
Smith, 64, has been a visible business leader in Slidell for many of the 20 years he has lived and worked here. He served as the chairman for the East St. Tammany Chamber on two different occasions in the past four years, has served on the St. Tammany Economic Development board, served on numerous non-profit boards, and has worked 39 years in the banking business, developing a large number of contacts.
“The truth is that I have the background and the contacts in the business world to get people interested in Slidell,” Smith said. “This is right up my alley and I want to do this to help Slidell be the greatest city it can be.”
Smith said he also plans to spend a lot of time with St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation (STEDF) Director Brenda Reine Bertus, to promote Slidell as much as possible for the many business leads that come from the state to her Abita Springs office.
Additionally, Smith will communicate more directly with the new parish economic development director, keeping Slidell at the forefront of any conversations about potential businesses considering St. Tammany Parish.
“I decided to have an economic development director for the city since I have to run the whole city and I can’t concentrate on this as much as I think it needs,” Drennan explained. “John’s background is perfect so that he can hit the ground running. He has all the tools to do this job in a great manner for us.”