Action Team Meeting Minutes

IDC / Jobs 2020: Action Team Report Back Meeting
Tuesday, May 4, 2004
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
IDC and JOBS 2020 Conference Room

Present:  Matt Romanik, Nancy Roth, Dan Margo, Bernadine Joselyn, Mike Andrews, Mary Kosak,Tom Osborn, Peter McDermott, Mike Lynch, Tim Bymark, John Ward, Lucy Flessner

Peter McDermott called the meeting to order.  Action Team reports were given as follows:

ACTION TEAM REPORTS

AIR SERVICE ACTION TEAM
Establish an economically viable scheduled air service at the Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport. ( Chairman Matt Romanik reporting)

The Air Service Action Team has obtained market data for the surrounding area in order to determine realistic numbers of passengers in the Grand Rapids service area.  The data provides information on passenger point of origin, fares and destinations.  The information helps the Team determine how many potential GPZ passengers have elected to drive to Hibbing, Duluth or Minneapolis/St. Paul for air service.  The market data will enable Team members to speak on a level playing field with potential airlines when negotiating or promoting the local airport.

Members are continuing discussions with Northwest Airlines (NWA) regarding resumption of NWA service provided by Mesaba Aviation.  They have also identified a different candidate for providing scheduled air service and will continue to pursue all options.  Revenue guarantees or community subsidies are not being offered.  On May 16th several members of the Team will meet with Congressman Jim Oberstar to discuss air service and airport needs for the region. 

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 11th at 8:30 a.m. in the airport conference room.

TOURISM ACTION TEAM
Implement a regional approach for Itasca region tourism marketing ( Chairman Nancy Roth reporting)

John Erdman of the Minnesota Office of Tourism will come to Grand Rapids to meet with the Action Team on May 5th.   John’s expertise is with marketing and tourism and the Team is expecting that his experience will be helpful in putting together a county wide organization and marketing effort.

A sub-group of the Team  met on April 26th to work on a structure for a marketing organization to present to the full Action Team. 

The next meeting is scheduled for late May or early June.  Tim Campbell of the Minnesota Office of Tourism has been invited to the next meeting to discuss branding and marketing.

HEALTHCARE ACTION TEAM
Create alignment and improve value in the Itasca region’s health care delivery system. Chairman Dan Margo reporting

Team members have established the following goals for their Team:

1. Get a better handle on work comp delivery in the region by starting a steering committee or task force.
2. Explore the possibility of the development of a locally owned and controlled primary care coverage product.
3. Work to re-establish a consortium of health care leaders who would meet periodically to discuss the health care network and alignment.
4. Support the Itasca County Health Network project by implementing their current efforts and helping them to succeed in the development of a regionally connected database.
5. Make progress regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The Team will meet the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. at Itasca Development Corporation.

ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY ACTION TEAM
Expand the Itasca Region’s advanced telecommunications technology capacity and utilization. (Team member Bernadine Joselyn reporting)

This Team originally called the “Broadband” Action Team, decided that “broadband” did not adequately encompass the full range of advanced telecommunication issues and opportunities facing the region and agreed to change the name to Advanced Telecommunications Technology.  The geographic area they will attempt to impact will include Itasca County and communities of Remer,Northome and Hill City. 

The Team identified the following issues or problems facing the area:

• Cellular service/coverage is inadequate
• There is a lack of definition or agreement as to the level of broadband service needed
• Advanced telecommunication services and tools are not adequately available
• Public understanding of the benefits of broadband needs to be elevated
• Access to broadband services is not universal across the region
• Prices for advanced telecommunications services are perceived by the public to be too high.

The Team will recruit additional members who have a vested interest in improving the area’s telecommunications systems.

The next meeting will be May 14th from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. at the Itasca Technology Exchange.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTION TEAM
Improve cooperation and collaboration among economic development entities in the Itasca region. (Action Team member Mike Andrews reporting)

The Economic Development Action Team will meet tomorrow (May 5th) at 7:30 a.m. at IDC. 

Key stakeholders were identified and have been invited to participate in the meetings.  The first order of business will be to create a communications network among existing Economic Development organizations and area communities regarding economic development issues.  

The Team meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 a.m. at IDC.

EARLY CHILDHOOD ACTION TEAM
Support the Itasca region’s Early Childhood Initiative as it relates and connects to the business community. (Chairman Mary Kosak reporting)

The Early Childhood Action Team has identified the top 25 employers in Itasca County (ranked by the number of employees).  An Employee Needs Survey has been developed which contains 30 questions addressing the balancing of work/family commitments and child care issues.  Team members will set up meetings with the appropriate person(s) from each of the top 25 companies to discuss the distribution of an “Employee Needs Survey” to their employees.  The surveys will be anonymous but will collect information specific to each company.  The Team will organize the survey results into a format that can be presented back to the employer for purposes of helping the employer understand employees’ needs and concerns.  Team members will again meet with the employers to discuss ways that the issues of greatest concern to employees could be addressed. 

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 17th from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Sawmill Inn.

BLANDIN PAPER ACTION TEAM
Provide support to Blandin Paper Mill to improve its chances of becoming a preferred UPM expansion site. (Co-Chairman Tom Osborn reporting)

The Blandin Paper Action Team will meet tomorrow morning at Forest Lake Restaurant.  The topic will be an explanation of “certification” of woodlands.  Two nationally recognized certifications are the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  Jim Marshall, Chief Forester for Blandin Paper, Tim O’Hara, Vice President of Policy with Minnesota Forest Industries and Mike Carroll, Director of Forestry for the State of Minnesota will talk about the SFI and FSC certifications.  Garrett Ous, Itasca County Land Commissioner will share his proposal for the development of a local independent and alternative forest certification system. 

GROW ITASCA ACTION TEAM
Assist businesses in the Itasca region with expansion or retention issues through enhanced relationships and ongoing contacts and feedback. ( Co-Chairman Peter McDermott reporting)

The Grow Itasca team is going through the process of meeting with local businesses and completing Grow Minnesota surveys for the largest 100 employers in the area.  This process will take until the end of the year to complete.  The survey is proving to be a good business retention and expansion tool as it is administered by local business peers.

WORK FORCE SKILLS ACTION TEAM
Review results of the work force skills survey and develop community action plan ( Co- Chair Mike Lynch reporting)

The Work Force Skills Action Team has joined forces with the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce’s Work Force Development Committee and their May meeting was scheduled for the same time as this Report Back meeting. 

The Team is in the process of consolidating and analyzing the data from surveys taken for the purpose of determining the skills needed by regional employers now and in the future.  The Chamber of Commerce’s June Luncheon Program will feature a report on the findings. 

The Junior Achievement Program has been completed with the Greenway school district.

LAKES MANAGEMENT ACTION TEAM
Focus on collaboration between the public and private sectors to improve lake management as an essential strategy for economic prosperity in the Itasca region. (Chairman Tim Bymark reporting)

The Lakes Management Action Team is scheduled to meet this afternoon (May 4th) at 3:00 in the Itasca County Courthouse boardroom. 

The Action Team members have participated in meetings regarding proposed changes in the zoning ordinance, the Planning Commission’s public hearing, the 2004 Lakes and Rivers Conference and the South Central Itasca County Intergovernmental Planning Board. 

Team members assembled articles relating to the economic value of lakes and have compiled “talking points” for delivery to various decision-making groups.  Copies of the information gathered were handed out at today’s meeting.  The information will be condensed and summarized into easier to read format.

The Lakes Management Action Team has proposed a JOBS 2020 forum for September on proposed zoning ordinance changes and the Planning Commission’s recommendations.

The next meeting is scheduled for May 20th at 3:00 in the County Board Room.

The Report Back meeting was adjourned.  The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the IDC and JOBS 2020 boardroom.