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Forest Park reports strong job-fair turnout; Matthews International preparing major local expansion
Summary
City staff reported a sold-out job fair with 22 employers and heavy public turnout, ongoing business recruitment efforts, and that Matthews International is close to signing a lease that could bring about 50 engineering jobs at six figures to Forest Park.
City economic development staff told the URA board about a string of outreach events, business recruitment activity and workforce programs, citing a sold-out job fair and a near-term corporate expansion.
Staff said the joint job fair, organized with Councilman Wells and held at the gym, featured 22 employers, capped at 400 attendees on Eventbrite, and drew lines into the parking lot when doors opened. Participating employers included Atlanta Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Chick-fil-A, Georgia Power, Georgia Army National Guard, Clayton County Water Authority, Waste Management and others; MARTA and workforce partners were also on site. Staff said the event exceeded expectations and that the city plans another similar fair in January or February.
Staff briefed the board on Elevate, a workforce program run by Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency. Ronald Tucker of Elevate described three program functions — career services (resume help, interview coaching using the STAR method), training partnerships (Atlanta Technical College and Clayton State University) that support certifications such as CDL and forklift, and digital-literacy training (Northstar Digital Literacy curriculum). Tucker said the programs focus on IT, construction, health care and culinary tracks and that many certifications can be provided free through workforce funding sources.
On business recruitment, staff said Russell Landscape (the company mentioned earlier) is seeking a second location and is considering Forest Park; Maker Studio (container-based commercial spaces) is also seeking space. Staff reported that Matthews International, a warehouse-automation firm, is in the final lease phase for a large building at 1500 Southpointe and that the company expects to bring 20–25 engineering jobs initially, with potential to grow to about 50 engineering jobs at starting salaries of $100,000–$130,000 when at full capacity. Staff said Matthews will be the only U.S. location for one component of its automation technology.
Staff also listed upcoming Main Street and community events (yoga, Blues on Main, Potoberfest, Longest Table) and noted a downtown mixed-use proposal being discussed for College and Main. Staff said they will continue business-retention visits, ribbon cuttings and outreach for entrepreneurship supports such as pop-up retail.
At the meeting’s close staff informed the board that the city manager had resigned and that the city council will name an interim manager at its next council meeting; the city manager agreed to help transition with the interim for about six months, staff said.
