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Action Team Meeting Minutes IDC and JOBS 2020: Action Team Report Back Meeting Present: Jim Hoolihan, Mike Johnson, Tom Osborn, Bernadine Joselyn, David Marty, Steve Wilcox, Kelly Hain, Doug Learmont, Peter McDermott, Sholom Blake, Lucy Flessner, Bud Stone Jim Hoolihan opened the meeting. Dates for future Report Back meetings were set as follows:
Meetings will be held in the IDC and JOBS 2020 Conference Room from Noon until 1:30 p.m. Action Team chairs will be asked to give a year-end report at a final Report Back meeting sometime in December (date yet to be determined). Action Team members were told when the Teams were formed that Team work and membership terms would conclude at the end of the year. The option of whether or not to continue the work of an Action Team will be decided by each Team at the end of the year. If an Action Team continues, members of the Team will have a choice whether or not to continue their membership. The IDC and JOBS 2020 Board of Directors held a staff and board retreat at Ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge yesterday. Board Chairman Mike Johnson provided a brief update on the outcome of the retreat. A short version of the mission statement was agreed on as follows: “Helping create quality jobs”. Priority areas were identified that best reflect the integrating of IDC and the JOBS 2020 initiative. Appropriate goals will be determined for each priority area. Priority areas include:
ACTION TEAM REPORTS Action Team 1: Reduce production costs of manufacturing Doug Learmont reporting Action Team 1 has not met since the July 15th Report Back meeting but the Team is scheduled to meet tomorrow, August 20th, in the Blandin Paper Company board conference room. Agenda items will include reviewing a questionnaire sponsored by the Work Force Development Project which will be sent to area employers to try to determine what their future workforce needs will be and what types of skills and training will be required. Jim Wrobleski and Scott Moore of the Department of Employment and Economic Development and Rick Lichty of UMD Bureau for Economic Research will be at the meeting to discuss the economic impact of manufacturing on the Itasca area’s economy. Action Team 2: Tourism: Implement a county-wide lodging tax to promote the region’s tourism Kelly Hain reporting The Action Team has not met formerly since the lodging tax legislation passed. However, Kelly Hain sits on the Convention and Visitors Bureau board and that board is in favor of a county-wide lodging tax. The Action Team is at a crossroads as what the next step should be to get the legislation passed at the county level. A logical step may be to meet with the steering committee from the Itasca County Tourism Study which clearly outlines the benefits of a county-wide effort. In order to pass the lodging tax at the county level, three commissioners must believe that its passage will be for the greater good of Itasca County. No date has been set for the next meeting. Action Team 3: Become a center of excellence to educate and sustain a professional healthcare workforce for regional rural communities Mike Johnson reporting The Team’s focus is to build interest in health care jobs in order to assure the availability of rural health care degrees and training locally. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at 7:30 a.m. to discuss the future direction of the Action Team. Building interest in K–12 students toward health care related career opportunities and expanding programs at Itasca Community College (ICC) are original goals set by the Team. ICC is expanding programs and has started a fast track nursing program. The college is working with Hibbing Community College to deliver an RN program on-line by next fall. The Nursing Assistant program has also been expanded at ICC. As a result of the strong proposal the Action Team made to the University of Minnesota Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the local community was recognized as an area with great vision and planning in place. While not successful in securing the AHEC for the Itasca area, Team member Mary Ives was asked represent the community by participating in the selection of the AHEC director. Action Team 4: Help improve Blandin Paper Company’s chances of becoming a preferred UPM-Kymmene expansion site. Tom Osborn reporting Team 4 has expanded its work into longer term goals and Tom anticipates that the Team’s work will carry over into 2004. Topics the Team is working on include tracking the status of the “Captive Rail” issue. The Action Team believes their letter writing campaign caught the attention of Burlington Northern officials as they did schedule a visit with Joe Maher at Blandin to discuss the captive rail issue. Another topic is the federal forest planning process. A second letter writing campaign is underway to provide comment regarding the Forest Plan Revision for the Chippewa and Superior National Forests. A third topic is the JOBZ zones legislation. Blandin Paper Company wants to be included in a JOBZ zone. The zone would run from the existing mill site west to County Road 63. The City of Grand Rapids has included this in the JOBZ zone package. Blandin Paper Company officials have been active on Team 4 and the community support shown for Blandin through the Team’s work has been appreciated by the company. Action Team 6: Explore JOBZ zones as an economic development tool for Itasca County Sholom Blake Reporting All cities and townships participating in a JOBZ zone were required to have their survey information completed by August 8th indicating the amount of land requested. A full application with maps of designated areas and local resolutions are due by September 15th. The Arrowhead Regional Development Commission will make the application on behalf of the Northeast region. At present, about 5,700 acres have been included in the designation (Duluth is not included in this figure). Itasca County has submitted a total of 1,090 acres. Sholom reported that there are two things that IDC and JOBS 2020 can do to assist the application process. They include: 1) Ensure that the area west of Blandin Paper along the riverfront to County Road 63 remains in the application. 2) Provide a letter of support. There is a requirement in the application that local public and private commitment to the development of a JOBZ zone be demonstrated. Sholom suggested a letter of support from the Action Team representing the entire JOBS 2020 effort would be beneficial. Those in attendance at today’s report back meeting agreed. Sholom will draft the letter for signature. The Action Team will meet tomorrow, August 20th, at 7:30 a.m. in the Itasca County Courthouse board room. Action Team 7: Create efficiency, accountability and reduce costs in public services Steve Wilcox reporting Members of Team 7 are conducting research with different government entities in order to develop a report describing current economic development spending practices and make recommendations for improved performance. Team members have had good success with most of their assignments. The Team has focused on economic development spending at all levels of government – including state and federal. The next meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at the Grand Rapids State Bank Financial Services building. The hope is that all information gathering will be finalized by September. A process for presenting the information into a readable, non-burdensome format will be discussed at that time. The reporting format will be determined by the Action Team. However, it was suggested at today’s meeting that the recent summary of the Governor’s forest summit might provide a good model. Action Team 8: Create a community-wide event Bernadine Joselyn and David Marty reporting Brochures, posters and mailers have been widely circulated to promote the new “Goods from the Woods” community event scheduled for September 27-28. The two day event will feature workshops, exhibits and marketplace for entrepreneurs, landowners, and families to promote a non-traditional forest economy. To date, more than 20 workshops and over 40 presenters have been scheduled. The event is designed to increase the benefits enjoyed from our forests while maintaining protection for future generations. Saturday, September 27th, will consist of educational workshops. Sunday, September 28th, will be a marketplace consisting of show, sell, shop exhibits, demonstrations and family festivities. The event has been primarily funded through a one year grant from the Blandin Foundation. Bernadine reported that the Action Team is still short of their local fund-raising goal. A second mailing will go out to the JOBS 2020 participants soliciting support for the event. The committee will meet Tuesday, August 26th from 11 – 1 at the Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids. Action Team 9: Jobs 2003: Job creation and diversification The Action Team continues its work with local businesses which have the greatest opportunity for job growth and retention. During July, efforts were concentrated primarily on continuing to build relationships and assisting those who were contracted earlier. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has implemented a statewide initiative to give businesses in the state the best options for survival. Bud Stone of the local Chamber has joined the Jobs 2003 Action Team as they collaborate on localizing the State Chamber’s Grow Minnesota program into Grow Itasca. Bud Stone, Steve Arbour and Peter McDermott will attend the Grow Minnesota training program on August 27th in Hopkins, Minnesota. The Report Back meeting was adjourned. Submitted by Lucy Flessner
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