FooteNotes

Hey Friends! I’m enjoying another weekend on the road again, this time in the Carolinas. It’s been a beautiful couple of days in the 60s and 70s — not bad for early February.

I never get tired of looking for good industrial sites, but it seems like it’s tougher and tougher to find quality products with the right logistics location, good access, nice topography, and all the right infrastructure in place.

My blood still rises when I find a really good site. We looked a really nicely planned, rail-served park outside of Monroe, NC yesterday with Maurice Ewing, president of the Union County Partnership for Progress, www.unioncpp.com. Project Legacy (info@projectlegacync.com) is still in the planning stages, but when completed will have all the attributes of a world class intermodal park. It has excellent proximity to Charlotte and could be an important link between southeast ports of entry and national marketplaces. Multi-modal and intermodal products are becoming more and more important as companies look to reduce transportation costs.

I had the pleasure of addressing the need for a well planned park a few years ago when the leadership of Union County was first talking about this project. It is nice to see it moving forward thanks to Maurice’s leadership.

Today we were cruising sites in central South Carolina. One particular park, Lee County I-20 Industrial Center near Bishopville, SC stood out as a fine, fully improved park. The Center also has a nice 49,000-square-foot “spec building.” Spec buildings continue to be important tools for economic development since the majority of searches begin with the search for an existing building. Hence, if you have existing or spec buildings, you get more company/site selection consultant looks!

Keep up the planning of those good industrial sites. It makes our time on the road more rewarding! Happy Travels, Deane

Hi All! I had the pleasure of attending the IEDC Leadership Summit in Tempe, AZ this week. It was chocked full of good sessions, but President Jeff Finkle’s breakdown of the Obama Economic Stimulus Plan from an economic development viewpoint was most enlightening. You can download his slides by going to their Web site: www.iedconline.org. A few items of particular interest to economic developers:

• $43 billion for unemployment benefits and job training
• $32 billion for renewable energy projects including building 3,000 miles of the new “Smart Grid”
• $30 billion for roads/bridges
• $10 billion for research park projects
• $6 billion for expand broadband
• $730 million for new SBA lending
• Funds will generally flow through traditional state methods, but there will be No matching requirements.

IEDC has made a number of requests to push certain economic development programs to the administration (check out their Web site) and we thank them for that! Stay tuned…and get ready to spend! Deane

Hey Friends! Sure we are in a recession, business is slow, unemployment high, but if you ask me this morning, everything is Super! Just think, President Obama has been sworn in (he said, Anything is possible in America), a US Airways pilot is a true American hero, our new business is off to a fast start, and…oh, yes, the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl and I repeat, the Cards are heading to the Super Bowl!! I had the pleasure of attending the game and be part of the pure joy of the moment. It was one the greatest sporting events of my life! I saw a great sign: Let’s Party Like It’s 1947! (the last time the Cards were in a championship game!).

I see this spirit carrying on throughout the year in business, as well. Let’s talk about economic development issues that are on your mind and find a way to solve the problems. I don’t mind borrowing a phrase from a certain Super Bowl bound team from the desert…We Can Do This Together! Have a great week, Deane

 

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Hi! Recent economic news is rough, especially for small-town America. While doing some recent consulting in the Mountain West, however, I was encouraged to learn of significant new activity in the wind turbine sector. There has been some impressive investments in both nacelle and blade production plants in small towns from companies such as Vestas in Windsor, CO and Dragon Wind in Lamar, CO. This is consistent with other recent small town projects in places such as Columbus, NE; Newton, IA; Butte, MT; McGregor, TX, and Sioux Falls, SD. Job totals range from 50 to 700 and capital investments are impressive too (Vestas in Brighton, CO investment topped $250 million). Wind turbine site selection criteria (by priority) look something like this:

1. Access to market – wind farms

2. Available labor (up to 1000 jobs) – machining and electronics skills & quality

3. Rail (more than one provider preferred)

4. Sites (up to 200 acres)/available industrial buildings (up to 500,000 sq.ft.)

5. Free of earthquake or flood zones

6. Training – college offering mechanical and electrical engineering degrees; plus machining and electronics

7. Incentives and positive state/local policies.

Maybe things are looking up because we know one thing, small-town America, the wind will always blow! Regards, Deane

Hi Sports Fans! Along with 63,000 of my Cardinal buddies, I was thrilled with yesterday’s victory over the “Dirty Birds” (Falcons)! The Cards’ motto this season…we will do this together ! Cooperation works even for the once laughable Cards! It’s been great for Arizona during some tough economic times.

I pondered this motto after reading some of the other headlines and editorials this AM, which included AZ May Run Out of Money in Feb, and the need to stick to an economic plan instead of restarting with each new administration (using North Carolina’s Research Triangle as a model to follow). An essential part of a successful plan–cooperation!

Workforce issues came to mind here once again, the need to educate, train, retrain and attract new skills into the workplace. I had the pleasure of attending a recent meeting of the AZ Association of Economic Developers (AAED) Workforce Committee. I was pleased to participate in a discussion that focused on new plans to encourage more cooperation between public workforce organizations (WIA, City, County etc.) and private business. The end result of this improved cooperation will be better training for the skill needs of the future.

Although encouraged by the discussion, I couldn’t help thinking about what other states have been doing effectively for years…good public/private cooperation in workforce planning. I mentioned North Carolina’s success, but look at Iowa, who has one of the best state workforce programs in the nation, which includes continuous surveying of underemployment (available skills) statewide. Or look at the Western Illinois WIB, a well planned and cooperative workforce program where economic developers and workforce officials sit down and plan on an ongoing basis. The result has been a successful rural program in the midst of a state in economic and political (governor’s scandal) turmoil.

I am hopeful that the Arizona workforce program will look at other “best practices”, not reinvent the wheel, and continue this improved cooperation. Maybe we should borrow the motto…we will do this together! and add…we will stick to the plan! Thanks and GO CARDS! Deane