Economic concerns aired at Missoula forum

When Dick King came to the packed community conversation on economic development and the Montana university system in Missoula on Monday afternoon, he had a particular bone to pick.

As head of the Missoula Area Economic Development Corp., King knows of a business that wants to come to Missoula.

By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/08/10/news/top/news01.txt

One hurdle is that the business needs welders and other skilled workers, but Missoula has too few.

The University of Montana College of Technology has a welding program, King said, but "it can’t meet capacity."

Speaking up from a chair at the front of the room, Paul Williamson, dean of the College of Technology, agreed: "We don’t have enough graduates to meet demand, and we have a waiting list to get into the program."

About 85 people came to UM’s Continuing Education building for the two-hour meeting, which is part of an initiative formally called "Shared Leadership for a Stronger Montana Economy" that was first envisioned by John Mercer, chairman of the Montana Board of Regents. The meeting was hosted by Sheila Stearns, commissioner of higher education, and Dave Gibson, Gov. Judy Martz’s top business officer.

When Mercer became a regent a few years ago, he believed Montana’s university system could play a more active role in pushing the state up from the bottom of national economic rankings. In the past year the regents, legislators, business leaders and government officials have met to discuss ways to make that happen, and in June, they began taking the concept to the public. Monday’s gatherings in Kalispell and Missoula mark the halfway point in the planned 15 public meetings. The meetings are focused on the following topics:

* Improving work-force training and education.

* Improving access to postsecondary education.

* Expanding distance learning.

* Developing partnerships between business and the university system.

* Building collaborations between the university system, state agencies and local agencies to solve Montana’s problems.

* Promoting Montana travel to university alumni.

Stearns and Gibson hope to present the regents with a plan at their meeting in Butte on Sept. 23. The community conversations will help shape that plan.

Like King, many of the participants in Monday’s meeting had specific requests, and most of those requests came down to funding.

"We can’t simply add welding classes," Williamson said, "We don’t have the funding for equipment and qualified instructors."

While King and Williamson gave their comments, Stearns took notes.

"Point taken," Stearns said when they were done, "Our intent is not to study this thing to death for another two years. We’re going to come out of this with a plan of action."

Gibson added, "The single most important thing we can do, we are hearing, is to build a stronger two-year college system."

Other participants asked for support for university research that might be patented and for help for small businesses. Others asked Gibson and Stearns not to forget about barriers to education such as lack of affordable child care and even high tuition.

Not all of those at the meeting walked away satisfied.

Rick Gold, who has a small online business called Gold & Cohen Services, said he doesn’t see how the plan will help him or other small, struggling businesses pay better wages.

But even Gold’s questions yielded a potentially useful connection.

Tony Rudbach, of UM’s research and economic development department, leaned back in his chair and said his office could help.

Gold took down Rudbach’s phone number and said he would call.

Reporter Robert Struckman can be reached at 523-5262 or at [email protected]