October 4, 2017 at 4:27 a.m.
Planning meetings slated for rest of ’17
A series of meetings will follow focus groups and surveys
Planning meetings slated for rest of ’17
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
The strategic planning process is about halfway complete.
Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley updated his board Tuesday about upcoming meetings to continue strategic planning for the organization’s next three to five years.
The board also approved its budget for 2018, discussed additional promotion for the Hoosier Opportunity website and heard about a hiccup in a planned project in Portland’s industrial park.
Bradley told the board that four focus groups — manufacturing, general business, young people and government — that met last week provided a lot of quality input about what JCDC should focus on in the future. Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development facilitated the discussions and will put together a book of information from them as well as three guest speakers who visited the county this spring and a survey that was distributed to members of the local business community.
That information will be distributed to the board, which is scheduled to meet from 4 to 6 p.m. to discuss its missions and goals.
Additional meetings in November and December will be spent talking about community assets, an action plan for JCDC and investing in the future.
Bradley plans to put together a full report early in 2018 with the board slated to approve the strategic plan during the first half of the coming year.
The board approved JCDC’s 2018 budget of $198,010, which is up about $6,000 from the current year. It factors in increases for the purchase of new computers as well as an additional $1,500 for marketing. There are also slight increases for salaries and benefits.
Budget approval was moved up to October because in recent years the corporation has had difficulty getting a quorum at its December meeting.
One of the areas the additional marketing dollars could go to is promotion of the Hosier Opportunity website that was launched this year. Bradley said he and economic development leaders in Wayne and Randolph counties are happy with business and industry participation, but that the site is not being used by a large enough number of job seekers. He plans to meet with his counterparts today to discuss additional marketing in an effort to get the word out about the website.
Several board members wondered if the site’s lack of job seekers could be because of the relatively low unemployment both in the county and throughout the Midwest. Bradley acknowledged that those circumstances may be having an impact. He added that local companies are still in need of more labor, citing the example that FCC currently has 60 employees in training and still has more openings to fill.
Bradley also reported that local officials are considering their options after Jay County did not receive a state Community Crossings grant for the construction of two new roads in the industrial park on the north side of county road 100 North on the east side of U.S. 27. He said a “plan B” to complete half of the project is a possibility.
All Rights Reserved
The strategic planning process is about halfway complete.
Jay County Development Corporation executive director Bill Bradley updated his board Tuesday about upcoming meetings to continue strategic planning for the organization’s next three to five years.
The board also approved its budget for 2018, discussed additional promotion for the Hoosier Opportunity website and heard about a hiccup in a planned project in Portland’s industrial park.
Bradley told the board that four focus groups — manufacturing, general business, young people and government — that met last week provided a lot of quality input about what JCDC should focus on in the future. Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development facilitated the discussions and will put together a book of information from them as well as three guest speakers who visited the county this spring and a survey that was distributed to members of the local business community.
That information will be distributed to the board, which is scheduled to meet from 4 to 6 p.m. to discuss its missions and goals.
Additional meetings in November and December will be spent talking about community assets, an action plan for JCDC and investing in the future.
Bradley plans to put together a full report early in 2018 with the board slated to approve the strategic plan during the first half of the coming year.
The board approved JCDC’s 2018 budget of $198,010, which is up about $6,000 from the current year. It factors in increases for the purchase of new computers as well as an additional $1,500 for marketing. There are also slight increases for salaries and benefits.
Budget approval was moved up to October because in recent years the corporation has had difficulty getting a quorum at its December meeting.
One of the areas the additional marketing dollars could go to is promotion of the Hosier Opportunity website that was launched this year. Bradley said he and economic development leaders in Wayne and Randolph counties are happy with business and industry participation, but that the site is not being used by a large enough number of job seekers. He plans to meet with his counterparts today to discuss additional marketing in an effort to get the word out about the website.
Several board members wondered if the site’s lack of job seekers could be because of the relatively low unemployment both in the county and throughout the Midwest. Bradley acknowledged that those circumstances may be having an impact. He added that local companies are still in need of more labor, citing the example that FCC currently has 60 employees in training and still has more openings to fill.
Bradley also reported that local officials are considering their options after Jay County did not receive a state Community Crossings grant for the construction of two new roads in the industrial park on the north side of county road 100 North on the east side of U.S. 27. He said a “plan B” to complete half of the project is a possibility.
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