It’s no secret that the Lake Charles area is preparing for explosive growth. And now, as detailed in a feature from the spring issue of 10/12 Industry Report, community leaders have a guide to assist them in the form of the Southwest Louisiana Regional Impact Study.
Funded by Sasol, prepared by Baton Rouge-based CSRS and released at the end of October, the study takes into account 19 industrial projects ($68 billion worth); 10 community systems, from education to transportation; and feedback from more than 200 stakeholders in the community. By the time the study was nearly finished, the southwest Louisiana industrial boom had surpassed $80 billion.
CSRS President Michael Songy says his firm was hired to provide a socioeconomic model based on all of the announced expansions to try to forecast growth, as well as conduct comprehensive public outreach and an infrastructure assessment. Coming in at around 350 pages, the study is comprehensive to say the least.
The 10 community systems assessed are workforce development, education, public safety and welfare, housing, small business development, transportation, utilities, health and medical, environmental, and planning for growth.
Officials have spent the past several months analyzing the findings and are preparing to move forward with recommendations that call for consolidation of services and encouraging additional worker villages in strategic locations.
For the Southwest Louisiana Task Force for Growth and Opportunity (GO Group) that’s coordinating efforts through five parishes and 10 different task forces, the first step has been hiring a director. Karen Lambert Clapp was announced for the position in early February after serving as director of marketing at West Calcasieu-Cameron Hospital in Sulphur for the past seven years.
Read the full feature.
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