The Taylor Economic Development Corporation (EDC) on Tuesday unveiled a final strategic economic development plan developed by MRB Group that lays out five framework areas — core EDC functions, workforce development, city collaboration, product and infrastructure, and local business development — and recommends new staff and studies to position the city for growth.

The plan, presented at a joint EDC–City Council meeting, stresses the need to increase capacity at the EDC and align city departments and local partners to manage expansion after Samsung’s announcement. "Economic development is a team sport," Ben White, president of the Taylor EDC, told the meeting, urging municipal and community cooperation on implementation.

The report summarizes outreach and analysis MRB completed to prepare the plan and gives implementation steps over a five-year horizon. Consultant Michael Indolo of MRB Group said the team conducted more than 30 one-on-one interviews, reviewed existing city and regional plans, and prepared data appendices covering industry, real estate and targeted sectors. "All of our plans are . . . data," Indolo said, describing the appendices MRB provided.

MRB’s presentation, delivered by Indolo and Chris Phillips, highlighted several priority actions for the EDC and city: hire an economic development project manager to handle requests for information and site visits; pursue rail-preferred industry targets that can take advantage of Taylor’s dual Class I rail access (Union Pacific and BNSF); inventory current infrastructure and commission a longer-term utilities study (water, wastewater, power); identify and take due-diligence steps on market-ready industrial or rail park sites; and expand workforce partnerships with the school district and higher-education providers.

"Ben and Regina are doing an amazing job," consultant Chris Phillips said, and recommended hiring a project manager so the EDC’s two-person staff can maintain current performance while pursuing new opportunities. The plan also proposes a grant-focused approach — either contracting a specialist or hiring a grant writer — to pursue federal, state and private funds for infrastructure, workforce equipment and downtown revitalization efforts.

On workforce, MRB recommends a teacher externship program and a survey of local manufacturers to identify skill gaps so schools and higher-education partners can align curriculum and equipment investments. Phillips said Workforce Solutions funding can cover teacher externships and that grants exist to fund classroom equipment and training.

City staff and elected officials asked implementation questions. Mayor Dwayne Arriola and City Manager Bridal Laborde said the city is already updating water and wastewater models and has ongoing utility planning; they emphasized the need to pair MRB’s recommendations with the city’s master utility planning. "Timing's everything," Laborde said, noting the challenge posed by Samsung’s arrival coinciding with updates to the city’s comprehensive plan.

Council members and EDC board members discussed land-development code review and the variance process; consultants recommended the EDC maintain a seat at land-use and code updates to reduce developer uncertainty. The plan notes that developers and financiers dislike risk and recommended derisking processes (for example, pre-due-diligence on sites) so sites are market-ready and more attractive to manufacturers that value reduced time to build.

MRB also urged continued support for downtown activity — facade grants, wayfinding signage, and recruitment of hotel and retail tenants — to leverage increased visitation and local spending. The consultants recommended that identified industrial or rail sites complete feasibility and due-diligence steps (environmental, utilities, marketability) to speed project timelines.

The presentation closed with EDC and council praise for the collaborative process; MRB said the final, graphically laid-out plan was available to meeting participants. No formal vote or ordinance was taken during the session; the meeting served to receive the plan and discuss next steps.

The EDC and city plan to continue coordination on implementation, including staffing, infrastructure studies and grant pursuit, and to sequence actions across a multi-year timeline rather than attempting to do all items at once.