|
Public input is important -see you at the summit
By MaryHelen Swanson
In the Osceola, Wisconsin business park, 17 of the 21 businesses are from Minnesota. Chisago County lost six businesses to Wisconsin in the last five years.
Information like this, coming from the county’s economic development authority director, is disconcerting, to say the least.
And that is why a group of strategic planners has created a Strategic Economic Development Plan for 2008.
Those planners include 18 county, city and township officials from across the county. As they met from August to December in 2007, they identified and ranked goals and priorities, completed information on local EDAs, identified available sites for commercial and industrial development, provided information on major employers, provided statistics on recent commercial/industrial building permits and consumption rates, and participated in the strength/weakness analysis.
In a powerpoint presentation last week, Joanne Foust of Municipal Development Group, Inc., presented the work of the last six months to a group of 16 interested officials from various entities in the county, including a few mayors, councilors, a Chamber director and even a school district superintendent.
The presentation was held at city hall in North Branch; it was the second of two gatherings.
Chart after chart showed the increases in population, the demographics of cities and townships in the county, population projects, including projected growth in Minnesota, residents by age, population by age, and household income.
The county has seen a 22 percent increase in population from 2000 to 2006. The projected fastest growing age group is 60-84 from 2000-2030.
Other data included employment and employment patterns, including payroll information in Chisago County cities. Employers within the city of Wyoming contributed nearly 1/3 of the county’s total payroll to employees with a 2005 payroll of $113,615,000.
North Branch employers provided 18 percent. And Center City and Rush City employers provided 10 percent of the county wages.
The plan includes commuting patterns, unemployment rates and employment projections.
The planning group established 10 goals and two more have been added since. The first is to educate local government and businesses on the findings of the plan. Second is to complete a market study to obtain commercial and industrial absorption rates and forecast future land use needs within communities and the county.
The third goal is to create synergy between all communities in Chisago County to ensure a collaborative approach to economic development. Foust said the cities should work together and be glad when development happens. Development in any city in the county is good for all of the county, she noted.
A fourth goal is to conduct business retention expansion visits to manufacturing/industries in the county.
The fifth goal is to educate the public on the benefits of economic development within the county and reasons for financial incentives.
This includes teaching the public about the importance of industry.
For instance, it is important that the public know that in 2006 Chisago County’s 1,242 businesses employed 14,340 workers.
And that Chisago County businesses’ annual payroll in 2006 was $461,876,330. That figure does not include benefits, which would result in a significantly higher employment package.
The public should know that the 2007 Assessed Market Value for commercial and industrial properties in the county was $335,772,260, which represents 11 percent of the total assessed market value of the county.
The data shows the impact of commercial/industrial new construction which was reported at $86.5 million between 2002 and the first half of 2007.
Indirect economic impact of this new construction includes employees becoming active in local organizations such as fire departments, Lions, school committees, Chambers of Commerce and EDAs.
And the creation of a sense of community between local employers and employees. New construction also brings about donations to schools, local events and charities.
Past success stories include the development of North Branch Outlets and the Chicago County Business Enterprise fund which provided loans to businesses at 1 percent below prime for equipment purchases, real estate acquisition or building construction. Since its inception in 1994, over $2 million in loans have been provided through this fund which created or retained over 400 jobs in Chisago County.
Goal number six is to expand marketing efforts for economic development.
Goal seven is to create partnerships with Chisago County businesses for programs such as job training.
North Branch Schools Superintendent Deb Henton suggested that the school districts be included in this partnership so schools can prepare students for the kinds of workers employers will need. She also suggested an annual report of the progress of the plan to provide accountability to the public.
Goal 8 is to survey residents on their current education, skills and jobs and interest in local employment.
The ninth goal is to recruit technical college courses into the county. It was noted that there is no college or university in Chisago County. It was suggested that the group work with local legislators and the Minnesota State College and University System to bring them here.
Goal number 10 is to work with the county, local cities and townships and Mn/DOT to develop a regional transportation plan and coordinate transportation planning with the Rush Line Task Force.
Most recent goals added to the list include educating the public on the economic impact of doing business elsewhere and finally to pursue grants for economic development.
The information is prepared, a copy of the plan can be obtained at the Chisago County HRA-EDA office in North Branch. In addition, there is going to be an Economic Development Summit on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the North Branch High School auditorium running from 10:30 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Local mayors may present messages about the state of their cities at this event in addition to a full explanation of the economic development plan.
The public, including business people, school, hospital, and other interested citizens are invited to this summit. The strategic planning committee welcomes their input. Please pre-register so that numbers can be determined for lunch. A box lunch will be available for $5. For more information or to RSVP for the summit, contact Chris Eng at (651) 674-5664.
 |
