Phenix City is expected to take a new direction in its economic development efforts today during its regular meeting.

The council will vote whether to contract with the Phenix City-Russell County Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority for economic development services.

Phenix City has been without an economic development director since Jason Streetman left the position earlier this fall. He was the city's third director in less than two years, following Judson Edwards and Kathyjo Spivey.

Mayor Jeff Hardin said he hopes the proposed new arrangement will bring stability to the city's economic development efforts and momentum to the city's attempt to attract new business and industry.

The two one-year contracts would cost the city about $48,000 -- $20,000 for the chamber and $28,000 for the authority. The city's fiscal 2006 budget allocates about $300,000 for economic development. Hardin said any savings realized from the change could be used to secure sites for future business or industry.

"Actually the (chamber) director, Victor Cross, has a certification in economic development, so it's not anything new for him because he's been doing it at other places. We've just never used that asset," Hardin said.

"We feel very confident, based on what we've seen from the Valley Partnership and with our chamber, that we may actually be better off with those two than we were in the past."

Cross said the chamber has tried to fill in the gaps for the city since Streetman left to return to north Georgia. He said the new arrangement seems a natural fit for all involved.

"Nine times out of 10 when a new business or industry looks at the city, or a local business seeks to expand, they come to us first," he said. "We can give them the demographics and specific information they may need to make a decision. But then when it comes time to buy the piece of property in the industrial park and ask for incentives, that's when we need to go to the city, because that's who provides that -- the city owns the park and can provide incentives."

Cross' role will be to do the front work -- "the grunt work" -- for the city and then bring the proposal to council. "I think that would work great," he said.

Becca Hardin and Dayton Preston of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Partnership told the council at Monday's work session that they believe this is the perfect time for Phenix City to join the joint development authority, which includes six counties and two cities in the region. They will help identify and market projects in Phenix City to industrial and retail entities.

"The Valley Partnership is based across the river. We believe it is time to cross the river," Becca Hardin said. "We would like to have you all join the Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority and let us be your economic development engine."

Mayor Hardin said the city is looking at the possibility of purchasing a new industrial site to attract potential suitors.

The Phenix Industrial Park, located south of town off U.S. 431, has been a hard sell to prospective industries because it lacks rail and natural gas access and the soil has a compaction problem.

Hardin said those problems put the city at a disadvantage when it seeks to bring automotive suppliers to the city. These suppliers provide parts and accessories to the new automobile manufacturing plants in Alabama, such as the Daimler-Chrysler plant outside Tuscaloosa, the Honda plant in Lincoln, Ala., and the latest, the Hyundai plant south of Montgomery.