Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

1
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

• Strategy Committee Meeting
• January 15, 2009

2
Presentation and Discussion Outline

• Economic Drivers
• 2003 CEDS Goals
• EDA and Administration Priorities
• Stimulus Package
• Pending and Proposed Projects
• Connecting It All Together
• RIG
• Next Steps
• Project Administration

3
Economic Drivers

• Infrastructure
• Traditional roads, water and wastewater,
  utilities, rail, etc
• Emerging broadband, green/alternative energy
  use, energy efficiency
• Regional v. local investment in regional
  programs or investment in specific infrastructure
  projects?

• Entrepreneurship
• Creates emerging, future industries - Cirrus
• Region lacking in funding and technical
  assistance needs, i.e. angel investor network
• Brick and mortar needs incubators

4
Economic Drivers

• Innovation
• Manufacturing, Mining, Forestry Industries have
  innovated. Very different from 10 or 20 years ago
• What can government do to assist innovation?
• Discuss forest products industry in flux now.

• Clusters
• Mining, Aviation Manufacturing, Health Care
• Exist here for different reasons.
• How can government/ARDC assist clusters?
• Trade Associations
• Workforce Training Needs

5
Economic Drivers

• Workforce
• Companies regularly list educated workforce as
  the 1 reason to locate in a specific place
• Where does ARDC fit in workforce development?
• Green collar job training?

• Assistance to Non-Traditional Driving Industries
• Healthcare, engineering firms, tourism
• What ED strategies, programs, groups exist to
  assist these industries?

6
2003 CEDS Goals and Objectives

• 1. Coordinated, comprehensive economic
  development planning
• 2. Maintain and improve infrastructure,
  services to facilitate promote BREA
• Coordinate regional industrial park development.
• Provide municipal and regional infrastructure
  planning.
• Maintain and improve transportation planning.
• Inclusion of economic development section in
  comprehensive plans.
• Coordinate all planning with ED planning.
• Provide a trained workforce that meets current
  and future needs.

7
2003 CEDS Goals and Objectives

• 3. Increase number of long-term, higher paying
  jobs throughout the region
• 4. Grow the regions industry clusters

8
EDA Priorities

• Market based, results driven projects
• Build up competitive strengths.
• Higher wage, higher skilled jobs.
• Increase tax revenues.
• Leverage private sector investment.
• Strong organizational leadership
• Project management experience.
• Necessary human resource commitment.

9
EDA Priorities

• Advance productivity, innovation, and
  entrepreneurship
• Enhance clusters.
• Link public and private innovators.
• Long-term job creation, innovation, productivity.
• Looks beyond immediate economic horizon,
  anticipates changes, diversifies local and
  regional economy
• Part of long-term economic development strategy.
• Enhances existing or builds new clusters or
  economic drivers.

10
New Administration Priorities

• Investments that are strategically and
  financially sustainable over time
• Have environmental benefits
• Generate short-term and long-term job creation
  and retention
• 5 focus areas

11
New Administration Priorities

• 1. Infrastructure upgrades for transportation,
  water and wastewater, brown fields and housing
• 2. Massive investment in broadband deployment
• 3. Energy efficiency upgrades in federal
  buildings
• 4. Investments in healthcare efficiency
  especially Medicaid and Medicare systems
• 5. Infrastructure and technology upgrades for
  schools

12
Stimulus Package

• 85 billion in infrastructure investments
• 30.25 B Highways and bridges
• 14.72 B Environmental infrastructure
• 12 B Transit
• 7 B Army Corps of Engineers
• 5 B Rail
• 5 B Aviation
• 400 M Economic Development Authority

13
EDA Stimulus

• Everything is a moving target at this time!
• 400 Million
• Distributed through existing programs and project
  selection criteria
• Elimination of local matching funds likely
• Shovel Ready Projects
• 100 M on projects within 90 to 120 days of
  package approval.
• 300 M over remaining 2 years of stimulus

14
EDA Stimulus

• No word on stimulus funding impact on normal EDA
  funding levels
• PWEDA about 140M in 08.
• EDA on continuing resolution in 09.
• EDA up for reauthorization in 09.
• It is unknown what the stimulus priorities mean
  for EDA in the future
• 2 year timeline.
• Stimulus appropriation is a little more than the
  past two years program funding.
• 400 Million will not fund all EDA backlogged
  projects.
• EDA also has 400 M in disaster recovery funding
  recently made available. Cook is only county that
  qualifies in our region.

15
EDA Stimulus

• Quarterly report throughout the life of the
  project
• Accountable for creation of jobs specified
• Use it or lose it ?
• Project list collected by ARDC for EDA used to
  justify stimulus funding level
• Does not mean project is automatically eligible
  for funding or will be funded

16
Economic Development Projects
17
Economic Development ProjectsQuick Start
Proposals
18
Connect The Dots

• ARDC will set new goals and objectives.
• ARDCs role in regional economic development.
• Support ED with information on EDA programs and
  funding and CEDS support.
• Support ED with information about other federal,
  state, and regional funding sources.
• What else?
• Continue Infrastructure Element.
• Project proposals continue to focus in industrial
  parks, industrial development.
• Support projects that enhance economic drivers.
• What else?
• Work with underfunded counties to identify EDA
  eligible projects.
• Non-Infrastructure, non-traditional
  infrastructure possibilities?

19
Connect The Dots

• Goals and Objectives (continued).
• Set Goals and objectives which support EDA and
  Administration funding priorities.
• Alternative Energy.
• Broadband.
• 1 initiative, 2 projects
• Economic Drivers.
• Public infrastructure.
• How do we identify and support projects and
  programs beyond infrastructure?
• Economic development projects do not have to
  qualify for funding under EDA programs to be
  included or supported.
• ARDCs One Project, ED focus?

20
Regional Innovation Grant

• RIG is conducting a regional economic scan. ARDC
  will assist with data collection where it
  overlaps with CEDS by contacting county economic
  development groups
• ARDC will continue to monitor and coordinate with
  RIG
• Cooperation could be long-term economic
  development goal

21
Next Steps

• ARDC staff is starting to write draft document
  will post on website
• Review and develop goals and objectives
• Communicate with ED groups (projects)
• Next Meeting Mid-March
• Finish goals and projects.
• Discuss benchmarks and performance measures.
• Review draft document.

22
Project Administration

• Website www.ardc.org CEDS link on right hand
  column.
• Will post meeting materials and CEDS materials.
• Information for next meeting?
• Meeting Date Mid March

23

• Josh Bergstad
• Senior Planner
• ARDC
• 221 West First Street
• Duluth, MN 55802
• ph. 218.529.7516
• email jbergstad_at_ardc.org
• www.ardc.org