PORT GIBSON — Entergy Mississippi will take a different tack, matching funds with Claiborne County and donating up to $100,000 during the next two years to launch an economic development plan — “Claiborne Works.”

In turn, county officials have budgeted $250,000 to complete the five-year plan, Allen Burks, president of the Claiborne County Board of Supervisors, said after meeting with county and Port Gibson officials and representatives of Grand Gulf Nuclear Station and Alcorn State University Tuesday night.

Tom Stellman and Mitsu Yamazaki, consultants with TIP Strategies — an Austin, Texas-based company — suggested five elements.

The first is hiring a professional in economic development within six months. Part of the funding could be in cash and part in the form of office space, materials and technical support in the following two years. At the same time, the county should support existing businesses and recruit new ones.

“Agriculture processing is something you have already. Prospects are looking at this area for lumber,” Yamazaki said.

Marketing the county’s outdoor recreation and tourism assets is another part of the plan, and the attempt will be to do so in harmony with regional partners, Vicksburg and Natchez.

“This is a great location for tourism, and you have to create reasons for people to spend their time and money here,” Yamazaki said.

Stellman suggested officials beautify the gateway into the county from the Natchez Trace and build visitor centers that can accommodate buses.

Establishing a presence of Alcorn in downtown Port Gibson and building a hotel for university visitors as well as strengthening ties among students, programs and area residents will help the area capitalize on the school.

“Port Gibson in the downtown area is what people think of when they think of Claiborne County. The way people see Port Gibson is the way they see Claiborne County,” said Stellman.

Alt hough officials expect to fully implement these strategies in five years, Burks said, “It’s a living plan. It will never be complete.”

The core of economic development is attracting new companies, which depends on the skills of workers and structure inventory, potential for long-term growth and desires of residents. TIP suggests Claiborne County and allies target sectors including biomass and biofuels, retail and leisure, agriculture and wood products during the next five years.

Though home to the state’s only nuclear power plant and one of the state’s eight public universities, Claiborne County, with 12,500 residents, has consistently high unemployment and heavy reliance on aid programs. For example, 100 percent of public school students are on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s free or reduced price meals plan.

Entergy, which uses power from Grand Gulf, has previously donated money for economic development.

“Here, we recognize that Claiborne County’s natural resources, existing industry and place in history perfectly position the area for potential growth,” Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi, said in a statement. “By helping boost the local economy, we can help Claiborne County flourish. This is very important to Entergy because a robust county helps us attract and maintain a quality work force at Grand Gulf.”

Located in Claiborne County north of Port Gibson off of U.S. 61, the 24-year-old plant produces more than 20 percent of Mississippi’s electricity and is looking to increase capacity from 1,265 megawatts to 1,443, which was a topic of discussion during a public hearing on Oct. 29.

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Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com