County Makes Major Shift in Economic Development Efforts
Posted By J.T. on October 10, 2009
Harrisonville, Missouri – The Cass County Commission has been working to develop a strategy for economic development in the county. The results have brought forth changes in the Cass County Corporation of Economic Development, a new policy stance on Economic Development, and a more unified effort among various municipalities and government entities.
The Cass County Corporation of Economic Development was formed to unite cities and communities in recruiting businesses and jobs to Cass County. “As far as Cass County government was and is concerned we just wanted businesses to locate here…no matter what city or area they were in,” stated Gary Mallory, “…and we wanted to work with the various cities and support them.”
However, the price to join CCCED (Cass County Corporation of Economic Development) was steep for several cities. At $1 per resident…the price tag for many cities, who were already investing dollars in economic development, was fairly high.
In the spring of 2009, Associate Commissioner Brian Baker approached Presiding Commissioner Gary Mallory with a plan to restructure CCCED and focus on building unity among municipalities and creating a fee structure that would not burden cities, especially in these tough economic times.
The result was a restructure of the CCCED by-laws. The proposed annual-dues structure of the CCCED is $3,000 for cities with a population of 10,000 or more; $1,500 for cities with a population of 5,000-10,000; $1,000 for cities with a population of 1,000-5,000; $500 for cities with a population less than 1,000; Business memberships are $500; and individual memberships are $300. The final dues structure will be approved annually by the restructured CCCED Board.
“The focus is simple,” stated Mallory, “We understand that cities are investing their own dollars into their economic development projects…we wanted to make this more affordable for city budgets and build unity with CCCED. This dues structure will help us move in that direction.”
Another change involves bringing city leaders together. The Board of Directors will now consist of the Presiding Commissioner or county designee, the Mayor or designee of the City of Belton, Raymore, Harrisonville, Pleasant Hill, Peculiar, and one Mayor or designee by the remaining cities and villages in Cass County, and five members from the business community membership elected by the business community memberships.
Associate Commissioner Brian Baker championed the idea of including city leaders and the mayors on the Board of CCCED. “We have long stated that the county is not competing with the cities, but we want to work with them…hand in hand…to bring businesses and jobs into Cass County,” stated Baker. “By bringing the elected leaders together we can build trust and unity and begin coordinating our efforts while at the same time respecting the sovereignty of each city and their individual efforts.”
CCCED’s current Executive Director is Craig Arnold. When CCCED decided to hire a part-time Executive Director, Arnold was working for Cass County. When the CCCED wanted the position to go full-time they made an agreement with Cass County to help fund the office of Executive Director. If Cass County felt the time would come to cease funding that office, Arnold would return to employment with the county.
This past summer, the Cass County notified the CCCED that they would be bringing Arnold back to the county and no longer fund the Executive Director position. Instead, Arnold will now work for the county as the Community Development Director and Economic Development Liaison for cities throughout Cass County that do not have an Economic Development Director.
“Craig has worked very hard at building relationships throughout the county, especially with our smaller cities and rural areas,” stated Mallory. “We need him to help the county as we focus on our new Enhanced Enterprise Zones and we need him to work with local cities and agricultural businesses as we look at Bio-Energy production. We are excited about his efforts and what we can do to work with our local cities.”
As CCCED began to examine its redirection, Baker began to examine how to find the right network of people to promote Cass County. In June of 2009 the county posted an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) to seek out a firm or individual who could help Cass County in promotion and networking. They found a company called Spectrum Consulting.
Spectrum was founded by Matt Roney and Jason Van Eaton. Their focus is strictly on government-business relations. Matt Roney previously served as Senator Kit Bond’s Kansas City Area Director and was instrumental in advocating for funding for the new 187th interchange and several other projects in Cass County while he served with Senator Bond. Jason Van Eaton was Senator Bond’s statewide Director. Both Roney and Van Eaton have left the political-arena and now focus completely on government-business relations and economic development. They bring a network of contacts that have already begun to work with Cass County.
Further, Spectrum also brings with them Mike Mills, formerly with the State Department of Economic Development and the Department of Agriculture. Spectrum’s staff includes experts in housing, commercial developments, economic development tools, and government relations. Their network of relationships with groups like the Kansas City Area Development Council, Smart Port, the State Department of Economic Development, state contacts, and federal contacts now give Cass County a massive network of contacts.
When the county hired Spectrum, they had one request – work with ALL the cities. While Spectrum has been hired by Cass County, their job description includes communicating with city leaders and being a resource for them. “Our effort here is to give all of our cities and governmental entities a massive resource,” stated Baker. “Spectrum offers this and we are excited to have them working for Cass County.”
Spectrum started working for Cass County in August. One of the projects they are already working on is the Lawrence-Smith Memorial Airport. Plus, they are working to promote various areas of Cass County and have already been in contact with city leaders throughout the county.
Starting in January, CCCED will now act as unified advisory board and think-tank to help Cass County and her cities recruit businesses and jobs. Spectrum Consulting will now work with Cass County and all of the cities within Cass to recruit developers, jobs, and businesses to the area.
“When we look at what our county and cities are building, it is very impressive,” stated Baker. “From our legislators to our city leaders to CCCED to our new consulting firm…we have built a team of people that can work together and bring businesses and jobs to our county.”
Senator David Pearce is considered to be a major asset to Cass County because of his work in Jefferson City with the Missouri Department of Economic Development. He and Representative Chris Molendorp, along with Mayor Odom and the Belton City Council were major leaders in helping obtain an Enhanced Enterprise Zone in Belton. Representative Luke Scavuzzo and Representative Scott Largent have both been advocates for Cass County’s new rural-area Enhanced Enterprise Zones. “When you combine the work of our local elected leaders, our community organizations like the chambers of commerce, county officials, state leaders, and our economic development consultants, Cass County is poised to do great things,” stated Baker.
This month Cass County will be holding a meeting with all of the Mayors and Spectrum Consulting to discuss future economic development plans and how they can work in unity.
Baker put it simply, “It is exciting to see our communities build unity…it is a great day to live in Cass County.”
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