|
Action Team Meeting Minutes IDC / Jobs 2020: Action Team Report Back Meeting Present: Jim Hoolihan, John Stene, Peter McDermott, Dan Margo, Catherine McLynn, Bernadine Joselyn, Tom Osborn, Steve Arbour, Mary Kosak, Matt Romanik, Nancy Roth, Lucy Flessner Jim Hoolihan called the meeting to order. Action Team reports were given as follows:
AIR SERVICE ACTION TEAM The Air Service Action Team continues to refine the information obtained from the passenger market data purchased by the local airport. The Team is confident that the local market will support a 19 passenger aircraft in a code-sharing operation with a major airline. The data and 19 passenger aircraft plan was presented to Representative Oberstar during his May 16th visit to Grand Rapids. Rep. Oberstar offered to arrange a meeting with the Action Team and Paul Foley, President/CEO of MAIR (holding company of Mesaba and Big Sky Airlines); Team members are awaiting word regarding that meeting. The Team has identified a possible candidate for scheduled air service that would connect Grand Rapids to low cost carriers in Minneapolis (Air Tran and Frontier). Discussion with this airline will parallel the Team’s plans to involve MAIR and Northwest. Members of the Team have begun discussions regarding services Grand Rapids could offer to an airline beyond passenger service. Services such as exterior washing, cabin cleaning, carpet shampoo, maintenance checks, crew accommodations, and crew transportation were some of the suggested services. The proposal will be presented to possible service providers within the Itasca area. A marketing/services package will be developed and sent to all the major network carriers for their consideration of providing service to the Grand Rapids/Itasca County airport.
The Tourism Action Team will meet Monday, June 7th at the Gosh Dam Place on Highway 46 North of Deer River. Tim Campbell, Director of the Minnesota Office of Tourism (MOT) will facilitate the meeting. John Erdman of MOT and Steve Markuson, former Director of MOT, may also attend the meeting. Invitations to the June 7th meeting will be sent to additional resort owners who are not members of the Action Team in an effort to involve more owners. The topic will be: Developing a common brand and designing an organizational structure. The Team also plans to recommend the organization or structure to serve as the Designated Marketing Organization (DMO) for administration of marketing funds. The Chamber of Commerce’s page in the Business Section of the Herald Review is featuring letters from area resort owners offering the opportunity for presenting different views of the proposed lodging tax.
The Health Care Action Team, or a sub-committee of the Action Team, has been working on each for their five goals.
ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY ACTION TEAM Two ad hoc work groups were established: 1) Public education work group and 2) Access work group. The public education group will focus on increasing public awareness and understanding of broadband. The group will assemble educational material and create a list of community meetings and/or events which may serve as appropriate audiences for educational presentations. The second work group will focus on improving service and increasing consumer choice at affordable prices. The group will develop and administer a user survey for distribution to area residents and businesses with the goal of quantifying local demand. Once the survey results are in, the Action Team will meet with current and potential service providers about improving and expanding local service. The information gathered will help the Team understand the community goals for advanced telecommunications technology service and help make a “business case” to local providers for increasing their service to the area.
The Economic Development Action Team is planning to schedule and facilitate a meeting of all Itasca area mayors. The purpose of the meeting will be primarily to update all mayors on available resources and programs that are available for economic development initiatives. Discussion will include how communities can work together to retain or expand existing businesses or to attract new business. Members of the Itasca Economic Development Council will form communication teams to visit each Itasca area mayor and city council to discuss the Itasca area community vision adopted by the Council and ask them how the vision fits with their activities. Mayors and councils will be asked what IDC/JOBS 2020 can do to help align job creation and the goal of their respective community. Once these community meetings have been held, the Economic Development Action Team will follow-up with the Mayors’ meeting.
The desired outcomes of the Early Childhood Action Team are:
The final draft of the survey has been completed. Team members have been assigned to two or more employers and have set up meeting times to visit with the appropriate person to explain the survey goals and discuss the best way to administer the survey to their employees. Team members have been encouraged to attend the Early Childhood Initiative meetings. The meetings have been facilitated by the Northland Foundation. Meetings have included the development of a vision statement, setting goals and identifying priorities for early childhood care and education in the Itasca area.
Companies such as Time Magazine, Home Depot, Menards, etc. that sell products made from wood are telling their suppliers that they must verify that their products are produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Time-Warner has mandated to their paper suppliers (Blandin Paper Mill, being one) that 65% of all wood fiber in paper sold to them must be certified by the end of 2004 and 80% by the end of 2005. A number of standards including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) were developed that ensure forest lands following the standards are managed for sustainable yield using best practices to ensure the future health of the forest. The actual forest management of landowners are se standards were developed by a “Third Party” and were checked by independent “third party” auditors to see that the management plan for the forest and practices are within used the required guidelines. The Blandin Paper Action Team adopted a resolution stating: “That Itasca County certify its lands under one or both of the two recognized and credible third party systems (FSC or SFI) by the end of 2005 or sooner.” The resolution was presented to the Itasca County board for review and consideration in order to minimize the risk to Blandin and Potlach and local loggers if the county land is not third party certified. The Team’s action does not preclude the advancement of a local certification system being worked on, but ensures that third party certification is adopted for county lands in time to protect local loggers and wood products companies.
Twenty-nine of the targeted 100 local businesses have been visited and surveyed through the Grow Itasca program. Grow Itasca joined forces with the Minnesota Chamber’s Grow Minnesota! initiative and uses the anonymous and confidential surveys developed by the Minnesota Chamber in visits with Itasca area businesses. The Grow Minnesota surveys will be used to determine issues and concerns faced by businesses in Minnesota. The Itasca area surveys will be separated out to help determine issues specific to Itasca County.
The Work Force Skills team has consolidated and analyzed the data from over 400 returned surveys from area employers which asked for information regarding employee skills needed now and in the future. The results have been shared with area schools and will be the focus of the Chamber’s June 7th Monthly Luncheon Program at the Sawmill Inn.
On September 10th Itasca County will host a five-county North Central Lakes Project meeting. In conjunction with that meeting a JOBS 2020 forum has been scheduled for the same day to focus public attention on the economics of maintaining our water resources. Confirmed speakers are Keith Hanson of Minnesota Power and John Chell of ARDC. The Action Team keeps abreast of issues concerning lakes management through reports from the South Central Itasca County Intergovernmental Planning Board water/wastewater initiative, the Western Mine Planning Board concerning the Canisteo Mine Pit overflow threat and other lakes management issues.
|