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Action Team Meeting Minutes IDC / Jobs 2020: Action Team Report Back Meeting Monthly Report Back meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the IDC and JOBSs 2020 conference room. Action Team chairs, or another designated team member, is invited to attend the Report Back meeting to brief representatives of the IDC and JOBS 2020 board members on their respective Team’s activities. Jim Hoolihan called the first Report Back meeting of 2004 to order. Action Team reports were given as follows:
AIR SERVICE The Air Service Action Team is in the process of reviewing market data from outside sources. The Team will use the information to determine realistic numbers of travelers to and from the Itasca County/Grand Rapids airport. The information will help the team estimate the number of people who are driving to the Hibbing, Duluth or Minneapolis airports. The Team is continuing discussions with Northwest Airlines regarding a resumption of the Mesaba Service. They are also looking at other options for major airline service. Team members will review the possibility of a Hibbing based low cost airline serving Northeast Minnesota. Northwest has made recent scheduling adjustments to the Hibbing airport which will have detrimental affects on Hibbing’s enplanements also. City and County officials will be lobbied to ensure that the zoning around the airport is not changed. Rezoning the area would land-lock the airport making it impossible to extend runways. The next meeting is pending a review of the market data by a sub committee.
The desired outcomes of the Team are 1) to establish sustainable funding or a financing mechanism, 2) develop appropriate governance, and 3) develop plan for implementation. The Team will work on ways to best market the individual areas or niches within the entire region while still promoting and highlighting the entire region. A sub group will meet to structure principles and a process for the governance model. Next steps include defining a structure, researching funding, and identifying a common brand. John Erdman of the Minnesota Office of Tourism will be invited to the next meeting (not yet scheduled) to make a presentation on different successful governance models used for regional marketing.
Key action items will include:
The Healthcare Action Team will meet monthly on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. at IDC and JOBS 2020.
The team is committed to a regional approach to broadband access at an affordable price and education of full utilization. The team will work with providers that can benefit the whole region. The Team has not yet scheduled their initial meeting.
Stakeholders have been identified as the Grand Rapids, Cohasset and Keewatin Economic Development Authorities, the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, citizens, taxpayers, and business owners in addition to IDC and JOBS 2020. The Team plans to:
The next meeting is scheduled for May 5th at 7:30 a.m.at IDC and JOBS 2020 conference room.
The desired outcomes of the Team are:
An “Employee Needs Survey” containing 27 questions that addresses the balancing of work/family commitments and child care issues is being explored by the Team. Team members will visit employers to share the survey content and discuss the best way of administering the survey. Early Childhood Initiative community meetings have been held which have had good representation from Team Members but they are hoping for greater representation from the business community. Interview results from polling 62 adults from the Itasca Area regarding the overall environment of the area as it relates to families with young children. The interview results will be used by the early childhood coalition as they consider ways to strengthen local resources supporting young children and their families. The next Action Team meeting is scheduled form Monday, April 26 at 10:00 a.m. in the Blandin Foundation boardroom.
The team has met with the new President of UPM-North America, Heikki Malinen. Malinen told the Action Team that from a global perspective, UPM is in a strong position despite challenges faced with magazine customers as more and more companies move to cable media for advertising. However, as Internet shoppers have increased the demand for catalogs, UPM’s catalog sales are in good position. The Team continues to work on raising the truck weight limits to match Wisconsin’s current limits in order to be competitive. Powerful lobbying groups representing railroad interests have opposed legislation to raise the limits. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The JOBZ Action Team suspended itself as implementation and marketing of JOBZ are being advanced by the individual communities with the assistance of IDC and JOBS 2020staff and the Arrowhead Business Connection.
Grow Itasca is a collaborative effort with the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce working under the umbrella of the statewide Grow Minnesota! Program. The Grow Itasca Team members are meeting with the top 40 employers in the Itasca area with a goal of meeting each identified employer at least twice in 2004 to promote retention and expansion of business and jobs in the Itasca region. An additional 60 employers will be visited by the Grow Minnesota team members. The next meeting will be held Tuesday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m. at IDC.
The Work Force Skills Action Team will review the work force skills survey that was sent to 2300 businesses within the Itasca area. The surveys were mailed to area employers to gain a better understanding of current trends and specific business needs. The team is in the process of consolidating and analyzing the data from the over 400 returned surveys for the purpose of determining the skills needed by regional employers now and in the future. The surveys are being evaluated by the Team and shared with the business and education community. The results have been shared with area school superintendents and will be the focus of the Chamber’s June Monthly Luncheon Program. The Team is working in partnership with the education community to provide an educational system that meets the employment skills of the future. The Work Force Skills Action Team is part of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Work Force Development Committee. Their next meeting will be held April 21st atNoon at the Chamber.
The Team has outlined three goals to work on: Strategies for working on each of the above goals have been outlined at Team meetings. The most urgent priority, and the most achievable during the Action Team’s timeframe, is the third goal. The goal is in line with the North Central Lakes Pilot Project goals providing the opportunity to collaborate with four other counties.
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