The Canton City Council met July 18, and approved a proposal from the Canton Economic Development Corporation for consulting and business recruiting services.
The council approved the CEDC to spend $7,500 to engage in consulting services with Retail Attractions,Inc. The fee would include hands-on recruitment services.
The recruiting services would update the retail trade area demographics, which was last completed in 2015. The contract will be for four months, with a likelihood to extend beyond that, said Rickey Hayes, of Retail Attractions, Inc.
Hayes, who hails from Oklahoma, said that the expense would be “well-worth it to the city,” and it would “help bring in retail along Interstate 20 with a push for restaurants, hotels and a minor emergency room center.”
Councilman Shawn Stewart asked Hayes to “seriously pursue a name brand, top-tier internet service provider. Hayes indicated that there are contacts in the industry that they can leverage to help bring in a toptier internet service provider.