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The Business of Life- Quite a few communities and states are spending millions of dollars to support their claims that excellent quality of life opportunities are awaiting you and your employees. Find out how to enjoy them.

Quite a few communities and states are spending millions of dollars to support their claims that excellent quality of life opportunities are awaiting you and your employees. Find out how to enjoy them.

By Rachel Duran The Business Expansion Journal

In McMinnville and Warren County, Tenn., economic development officials are betting that household garbage will enhance its quality of life, and therefore its attractiveness to corporations.

The area has cut down on the waste delivered to its landfills by recycling its household garbage, with the end product supporting many of the area’s 600 nurseries. The recycled product, called fluff, is used to pot plants, among other nursery activities. Further, when the fluff is run through extruding machinery the result is reusable building materials such as landscape timbers, fencing, park benches, parking curbs, decking and more.

McMinnville is home to BouldinCorp., and its business unit, WastAway Services, LLC, which developed a way to process and recycle 95 percent of Warren County’s household garbage. The company will soon begin recycling McMinnville’s household waste as well.

“As far as we know, Warren County is the only county in the world that can say it is recycling 95 percent of its household garbage,” says Don Rigsby, director of economic development, Industrial Development Board of McMinnville-Warren County.

“Lots of counties have landfill problems,” Rigsby notes. WastAway Services’ marketing materials note that in two decades, 78 percent of all existing landfills in America will reach capacity and have to be closed. “This company is taking the garbage and reusing it instead of sticking it in landfills,” Rigsby says.

In Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, 75,000 tons of the city’s trash was diverted from the landfill during the course of a year and a half. “We have a state-of-the-art waste management facility,” says Susan Ellis, coordinator of economic development and tourism, City of Pembroke. “We recycle everything, and if we are not recycling, we are composting it.”

What does recycled trash have to do with quality of life? Proactive enhancement of quality of life is an attractive factor to companies looking for locations, and economic developers are confident their recycling efforts will demonstrate this ability. Companies, and their employees, want to have it all: an outstanding place to live, work and play.

When Shasta County (Redding) in northern California conducted market studies from San Francisco north to the Oregon border about why companies look for new business locations it, found companies were looking to get away from over congested areas, high housing costs and unfriendly business environments. Companies noted they were also looking for more amenities for employees and their families to enjoy.

Based on the results of the studies, and the fact that Shasta County believes one of its greatest assets is its quality of life, the Redding City Council authorized funds from the city’s general fund to leverage dollars to build a sports complex and aquatic center. The city also leveraged federal funding for the projects.

“We are less populated we have skiing, boating and tremendous parks and trails, including a 53-mile trail along the Sacramento River, for a city of our size,” says Pat Keener, energy services manager, City of Redding Electric Utility. The Sundial Bridge, a $23 million bridge that will span across the American River, will join Turtle Bay with a network of hiking and biking trails. “The North American Hiking Association is moving its headquarters to Redding because of the trails we have here,” Keener notes.

In Pembroke, the city has been involved in the Communities in Bloom program for five years. Ellis says the international beautification program stresses community involvement, environmental awareness, urban forestry and other issues that contribute to the quality and appearance of the community.

“Two years ago we won at the provisional level in Canada for our efforts in the program,” Ellis says. “Last year we received a special award for environmental awareness from the program.”

In Iowa, the Vision Iowa program is breathing new life into its communities by funding recreational, cultural and educational projects. So far, $217.8 million in awards from the program have gone into new event centers, convention facilities, river walks, water parks, hotels and more.

“Vision Iowa was designed to create facilities and attractions that will bring people here,” says Nichole Warren, program manager, Vision Iowa. “We hope businesses will look at Iowa as a progressive state with outstanding communities to both live in and to conduct business from.”

The Iowa program, now in its third year, features two different funds. The Vision Iowa fund is for projects of more than $20 million, 10 of which have been funded. The funds have leveraged direct spending of about $2.5 billion. The smaller program, Community Attraction and Tourism, has awarded $40 million to 110 projects. The funds leveraged direct spending of $600 million.

The Ripple Effect

Michael Gartner says that the Vision Iowa program has generated leadership in the state and brought terrific ideas as to how to make towns and regions better places to live and to visit to the forefront. “While the money is important, it has been a catalyst more than a vital ingredient,” says Gartner who chairs the Vision Iowa Board, which makes the funding awards. Gartner is also the majority owner of the Iowa Cubs Triple-A baseball team.

Gartner notes the classic project of Vision Iowa is America’s River at the Port of Dubuque, which received a $40 million award. By the end of 2004, the project will have put in $600 million in new construction. The project will feature a Mississippi River Discovery Center, the Mississippi River National Education and Conference Center, a river walk and a hotel with an indoor water park.

“Dubuque was one of the first projects to be funded so it was one of the first to open,” Warren says. “This project has spurred other developments such as restaurants, shops and businesses near the project beyond what the community anticipated.”

In Shasta County, the community is already realizing the benefits of its newly opened $13 million aquatics center, which features an Olympic-sized swimming pool and has hosted three major regional U.S. Olympic swimming meets, bringing 2,000 participants from a five-state area to the city.

Next summer, Shasta County will open a $21 million sports complex, which will feature three mini-baseball stadiums, soccer fields and a restaurant.

“We have been short in this area (amenities) in the county,” Keener says. “Our city council has stepped up to the plate to see that these things develop.”

In Pembroke, the revitalization of the Water Front came directly out of its citizen’s pockets, through donations and services in kind. Taxes were not raised to support the project. “The project started with a $150,000 Millennium Partnership Program grant from Canada and a $25,000 Trillium grant from the province of Ontario, which leveraged $1.25 million from Pembroke’s citizens,” Ellis says.

For example, the boardwalk at the Water Front consists of 2,000 boards and every one of them was paid for by people who purchased a plank for $20. A nameplate was put on each plank to recognize the purchaser. In addition to the boardwalk, the Water Front features a band shell and an amphitheater.

Keener says the Redding City Council will also support the development of the Stillwater Business Park to further support the enhancement of the quality of life base in the area. “We are in the midst of going through the environmental review with the state agencies and hope to have this process completed in the next year,” he says.

The Stillwater Business Park will receive $21 to $25 million for infrastructure improvements from the city, Keener says. The site has also received state and federal seed monies. “We have already had a few site visits even though the property isn’t developed,” he says. “When people visit the site they also see the advantages of locating a company here and the quality of life they can enjoy.”

Chatsworth Products, an employee-owned company, recently selected Redding because it was impressed with what it saw in terms of the quality of life it wanted for its employees. Chatsworth Products is a provider of product solutions for organizing, securing and storing valuable computer and telecommunications equipment. When it was looking to expand outside of Chatsworth, Calif., Redding and Shasta County weren’t even on the company’s radar screen. The company was looking at Oregon, Washington and Idaho for a new location.

In addition to the quality of life, Chatsworth Products also found the area to be business friendly. The company currently employs 45 workers and will employ 135 to 175 workers when fully operational.

It’s About the Chance to Play

Of course, recreational amenities, the chance to play, are key ingredients to quality of life. Pembroke is located on the Ottawa River, at the center of white-water country. The city is located on a portion of the river that is rated as the top destination in North America for white-water rafting.

Pembroke is also the eastern gateway to Algonquin Park, which is the largest provincial park in Canada. The Algonquin College of Applied Arts & Technology offers ecotourism courses, which includes classes on soft adventure tourism, adventure tourism and how to be a kayaking guide.

Iowa is enhancing its attractions along its river systems, which are located on either side of the state. “Iowa doesn’t have mountains and oceans, but we have beautiful land bordered by two great rivers, the Mississippi and the Missouri, and we have capitalized on those strengths with the Vision Iowa fund,” Gartner notes.

For instance, the River Renaissance on the Mississippi in Davenport will use the state’s investment of $20 million to create the $113 million project, which consists of three components: The River City Music Corridor, the Arts Corridor and the New Economy Corridor.

The River’s Edge project in Sioux City will receive $21 million for the almost $73 million project. The River’s Edge will feature an event center, an historical interpretive center and a ground transportation center.

As companies undertake the site selection process, they will find communities, such as these, are prepared to meet both business and quality of life criteria. And they have the funds to continue to enhance the quality of life employers and their employees seek.

For complete details on the organizations and companies featured in this article visit:

BouldinCorp., http://www.bouldincorp.com

City of Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, http://www.pembrokeontario.com

Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County (Calif.), http://www.shastaedc.org

Industrial Development Board of McMinnville-Warren County (Tenn.), http://www.warrentn.com

Vision Iowa, http://www.visioniowa.org

Southeast Raleigh Comes Alive

City officials Raleigh, N.C. formed the Southeast Raleigh Assembly in 2001 to determine what could be done to enhance the quality of life and economic viability of the area.

The Southeast Raleigh Assembly is an advisory body that represents the partnership between the community and the Raleigh City government.

After developing a list of 110 issues, the assembly prioritized the list to 10 to 12 items, which have to do with capacity building, economic development as it relates to creating an entity, and identifying dollars and reserve dollars for business development, housing and other economic development strategies.

In order to be successful and convince others in Raleigh to build in the southeastern part of the town, the assembly is researching incentives to entice development in this untested market.

“Even though southeast Raleigh is an untested market, if the city can serve as a catalyst to help ease development woes, we will do what we can to speed up the process,” says Lawrence Wray, assistant city manager-administration, City of Raleigh, and manager of the Southeast Raleigh Assembly.

For instance, Wray says the city is looking at how it can shorten the plan review approval process as it relates to issuing permits. The assembly is also looking at developing a business entity to offer gap financing. “We want to spur the market to get the housing started over here,” Wray says. “Once that happens, we won’t have to look at bridging gaps, and we can look at making loans for developments.”

The assembly has also created a Virtual Business Incubator and sends consultants into southeast Raleigh to analyze small business participants to determine what they need and to provide technical assistance to improve and expand their businesses. Wray says that 20 pacesetters were identified from those efforts.

The incubator is a component of the Raleigh Business and Technology Center. Participants have use of the center ‘s reference library and other resources. What’s more, the entrepreneurs meet weekly at the center for training sessions.

The Southeast Raleigh Assembly is working with a development company to develop 110-acres, which could include mixed income housing, ranging in price from $130,000 to $340,000. The acreage could also have a small shopping center, a restaurant and a racquet club.

In addition, there is a proposed 600-acre site in an area that could feature mixed housing, community amenities, a golf course and a small shopping mall.

Wray says the assembly is also spearheading a clean-up effort of the blighted area near Saint Augustine’s College in southeast Raleigh. The assembly, in conjunction with the community, has created a team consisting of the police department, the inspections department, the community development department and the human services department.

For complete information on the efforts of the Southeast Raleigh Assembly visit http://www.raleigh-nc.org/planning/Commissions/Se_Assembly.htm
or call 919/890-3160.

http://bxjonline.com/bxj/article.asp?magarticle_id=588

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