One of the speakers at last week’s Missouri Governor’s “Survive and Thrive in 2005 Conference” was Rand Fisher, President of The Iowa Area Development Group. This organization was set up in the mid 80s by the 85 coop and municipal utilities in Iowa to encourage economic development. The mid 80s were when 38 community banks in the state closed, there was a farm auction on almost a daily basis and one Iowa mayor told people to “turn off the lights” when the last person left Iowa. I was working in Iowa at that time and I can tell you that it was bleak.
And, there are still challenges. The farming population is aging quickly, partially due to the current farm programs and the huge subsidies being given to existing farmers. “The average farmer in Iowa is 59; 70% work off of the farm for part time income; 48% of the land is owned by someone over the age of 65 and 24% is owned by someone over the age of 75,” according to Fisher. He went on, “At one time we were concerned with corporate and foreign land ownership, but today the biggest issue is that over 20% of the land in Iowa is owned by an heir who lives outside of the state.”
With ag being such an important asset in Iowa, “if we don’t use it as a plus in our rural development strategies, it is like a baseball team not using their best player.” Fisher related two examples (egg production and dairy) of successfully revitalizing agricultural businesses in the state as an example of what can happen when you “connect people and resources to grow businesses and communities in Iowa.”
Egg production was always an important product on most Iowa farms, with the state the number 1 egg producer in the country. It was considered the grocery money for a farm family. But the industry changed and Iowa didn’t. By 1980 Iowa wasn’t even in the top 10 states in egg production. But The Iowa Development Group and others started promoting Iowa as a location for egg production because it is much cheaper to ship eggs than feed. The average laying hen consumes 1 bushel of corn and ½ bushel of soybeans/year and Iowa produces lots of each. Today, Iowa is #1 again creating 2,640 jobs. The other key numbers: $61 million in payrolls; $750 million in industrial sales; $160 million in personal income; $225 million in value-added and $10 million in state taxes.
Iowa has had the same problem with the diary industry, resulting in fluid milk and cheese plants closings. The economic impact of one cow is $13,737. But big dairy herds are returning to Iowa, with 13 having been set up with over 1,000+ head each in the past 10 years. Other ag industries with huge potential in Iowa are: ethanol (15 new plants built in the past 5 years); renewable energy (wind power); and specialty crops. Iowa is learning to utilize their major resource, land, creating jobs in the process.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Thursday, December 16, 2004
104th Talk of the Year—Bitten, Fogged In and Out of Gas
On Monday I gave my last talk of 2004 and 104th since my first one on February 1st in Washington DC. During the past 10 months I have traveled 86,500 miles to 27 states, getting a chance to tour some wonderful agurbs® and meet some incredible people. It has been one of the best experiences of my life and I have had a wonderful time. Thanks to all of you who have made this such a memorable experience.
Some of my memorable moments during that time included being on the program with three Governors (MS, NM & MO); running out of gas in OH; a speeding ticket (my only one of the year) in IN; getting bitten by a dog in KS; and getting fogged in at Sam Walton’s first store location in Newport, AR.
Most are surprised to learn that Sam Walton started in Newport, AR, not Bentonville, but the businessman who leased him space wouldn’t renew his lease at the end of the five year term. He wanted his son to take over the business, essentially kicking out Sam. The town hasn’t changed much since then, while Bentonville where Sam landed has been transformed.
I got the dog bite when I was given a tour of a honky tonk performing arts barn out on a farm. The barn was called the “Fun Barn”. Evidently they don’t get many tourists out there in suits. I told my wife back at the hotel, “I thought that the owner had trained his dog to attack anyone who might look like an IRS agent.” She responded back, “No, they’re just great judges of character.” I’m not sure that I’ll ever win that one.
I’m going to take some time off for the next several weeks and won’t be posting every day. I’ve got some stories that I’ve accumulated in my travels that I’ll want to share with you, but I won’t be doing them on any regular pattern. I plan to again post on a regular basis when I’m back on the road again in January.
Some of my memorable moments during that time included being on the program with three Governors (MS, NM & MO); running out of gas in OH; a speeding ticket (my only one of the year) in IN; getting bitten by a dog in KS; and getting fogged in at Sam Walton’s first store location in Newport, AR.
Most are surprised to learn that Sam Walton started in Newport, AR, not Bentonville, but the businessman who leased him space wouldn’t renew his lease at the end of the five year term. He wanted his son to take over the business, essentially kicking out Sam. The town hasn’t changed much since then, while Bentonville where Sam landed has been transformed.
I got the dog bite when I was given a tour of a honky tonk performing arts barn out on a farm. The barn was called the “Fun Barn”. Evidently they don’t get many tourists out there in suits. I told my wife back at the hotel, “I thought that the owner had trained his dog to attack anyone who might look like an IRS agent.” She responded back, “No, they’re just great judges of character.” I’m not sure that I’ll ever win that one.
I’m going to take some time off for the next several weeks and won’t be posting every day. I’ve got some stories that I’ve accumulated in my travels that I’ll want to share with you, but I won’t be doing them on any regular pattern. I plan to again post on a regular basis when I’m back on the road again in January.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Columbus, IN—Why a Japanese Manufacturing Hotbed?
Yesterday I wrote about the large concentration of foreign manufacturers in Indiana. Japan with 188 companies in Indiana leads the pack, with almost 10% of those in the town of Columbus. How did this top 100 agurb® achieve this percentage when they have less than 1% of the population in the state?
Larry Ingraham, who runs an economic development company focused upon Japan told me, “One of the reasons there are 15 Japanese companies located today in Columbus is that the former mayor, Bob Stewart, made 17 trips to Japan during his 12 years in office. During the 8 years Governor Evan Bayh was in office in Indiana he never went overseas and he did his best to avoid being seen with Japanese or other foreign investment. However, during this period of the Governor's "absence", Bob Stewart of Columbus was the most well known Indiana politician in Japan, and it was his personal leadership and direct appeals to Japanese executives that contributed to all of those Japanese firms selecting Columbus as their U.S. location.”
He also related to me the story of how DIAMET, a Japanese Company that manufacturers automotive parts from powdered metal, had an announcement ceremony in Columbus in the late 80s. One of those present was the president of Mitsubishi Materials USA. He developed an eye problem during the ceremonies and was diagnosed with a detached retina. J. Irwin Miller, who I wrote of in my book, arranged for his jet to take him to the best eye doctor at the Mayo Clinic that afternoon.
Ingraham told me, “The Japanese President (and his company!) was extremely grateful to Mr. Miller and to Columbus for this special arrangement that had been made for him in his time of need. This story was then told by the Mitsubishi Materials officials to other Japanese companies and helped to paint a most favorable image of the Columbus community which resulted in more Japanese companies visiting there to see for themselves what was so special about the city. I was there that day at the Mitsubishi Materials announcement for Diamet and I will always remember what Mr. Miller did for that man.”
Little acts of kindness and respect can have huge long term benefits for the agurbs® that have figured out what it takes to succeed.
Larry Ingraham, who runs an economic development company focused upon Japan told me, “One of the reasons there are 15 Japanese companies located today in Columbus is that the former mayor, Bob Stewart, made 17 trips to Japan during his 12 years in office. During the 8 years Governor Evan Bayh was in office in Indiana he never went overseas and he did his best to avoid being seen with Japanese or other foreign investment. However, during this period of the Governor's "absence", Bob Stewart of Columbus was the most well known Indiana politician in Japan, and it was his personal leadership and direct appeals to Japanese executives that contributed to all of those Japanese firms selecting Columbus as their U.S. location.”
He also related to me the story of how DIAMET, a Japanese Company that manufacturers automotive parts from powdered metal, had an announcement ceremony in Columbus in the late 80s. One of those present was the president of Mitsubishi Materials USA. He developed an eye problem during the ceremonies and was diagnosed with a detached retina. J. Irwin Miller, who I wrote of in my book, arranged for his jet to take him to the best eye doctor at the Mayo Clinic that afternoon.
Ingraham told me, “The Japanese President (and his company!) was extremely grateful to Mr. Miller and to Columbus for this special arrangement that had been made for him in his time of need. This story was then told by the Mitsubishi Materials officials to other Japanese companies and helped to paint a most favorable image of the Columbus community which resulted in more Japanese companies visiting there to see for themselves what was so special about the city. I was there that day at the Mitsubishi Materials announcement for Diamet and I will always remember what Mr. Miller did for that man.”
Little acts of kindness and respect can have huge long term benefits for the agurbs® that have figured out what it takes to succeed.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Inshoring in Indiana!
Last week when I was touring NE Indiana, Gary Nielander, head of economic development in Steuben County, showed me a study and map that the utility company Cinergy had prepared on foreign investment in Indiana. The rather impressive map of these companies throughout Indiana is shown at http://www.indiana.cinergy.com/about_indiana_and_cinergy/foreign_investment_%20map/Foreign%20Map%20front.pdf.
Indiana ranks as the 14th state in the USA with number of foreign companies with operations in the state. There are over 600 foreign companies, employing almost 200,000 people. The greatest number are Japan (188 companies); Britain (140); Germany (96); and France (47). But there were also companies from such countries as Brazil; Chile, Chine, Greece, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Yugoslavia. Indiana has the 3rd highest concentration of Japanese companies in the country.
Free trade has encouraged these investments. Free trade will continue to grow jobs in the US and around the world.
Indiana ranks as the 14th state in the USA with number of foreign companies with operations in the state. There are over 600 foreign companies, employing almost 200,000 people. The greatest number are Japan (188 companies); Britain (140); Germany (96); and France (47). But there were also companies from such countries as Brazil; Chile, Chine, Greece, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and Yugoslavia. Indiana has the 3rd highest concentration of Japanese companies in the country.
Free trade has encouraged these investments. Free trade will continue to grow jobs in the US and around the world.
Monday, December 13, 2004
What If?
Have you ever thought about what might have happened if something had occurred or if you had done something differently? It is no different for a town.
In 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression, the 50 year old barber Hendrik Meijer decided to start a grocery store in the rental property that he owned next to his barbershop because he couldn’t find anyone to rent the property. Shaves and haircuts were considered luxuries during the depression and he was often paid with farm produce in the small farming community of Greenville, Michigan. He bought $338.76 worth of grocery items and started North Side Grocery. His 15 year old son Fred was the first employee.
That humble beginning has grown into the Meijer supercenters, which first introduced hypermarkets to the USA in 1974. Sam Walton often studied Meijer and was said to consider it to be one of the best retailers in the country. It wasn’t until Sam passed away that Wal-Mart started to compete head to head with Meijer, because of Sam’s tremendous respect for Fred Meijer.
In the late 60s Meijer moved their growing headquarters to Grand Rapids, 30 miles to the south. Today their 160+ stores, still privately owned by the Meijer family, are run from there rather than Greenville.
Fred Meijer, who celebrated his 85th birthday last week, has donated millions to his hometown. His store no. 1, which has been replaced with a new store on the outskirts of Greenville sits empty. Meijer has offered to sell the 140,000 sf centrally located store to the city for $1, hoping that it can be reused by the city or non-profits in the town.
Let me finish with some of the “what ifs” that went thru my mind as I toured Greenville last week. What if Hendrik Meijer had rented that empty space out to someone rather than starting a grocery store? What if he had decided to start a furniture store instead of a grocery store? What if Fred Meijer hadn’t moved the company headquarters to Grand Rapids? What if Sam Walton had moved out of Bentonville, Arkansas with his headquarters when he went public?
In 1934, in the midst of the Great Depression, the 50 year old barber Hendrik Meijer decided to start a grocery store in the rental property that he owned next to his barbershop because he couldn’t find anyone to rent the property. Shaves and haircuts were considered luxuries during the depression and he was often paid with farm produce in the small farming community of Greenville, Michigan. He bought $338.76 worth of grocery items and started North Side Grocery. His 15 year old son Fred was the first employee.
That humble beginning has grown into the Meijer supercenters, which first introduced hypermarkets to the USA in 1974. Sam Walton often studied Meijer and was said to consider it to be one of the best retailers in the country. It wasn’t until Sam passed away that Wal-Mart started to compete head to head with Meijer, because of Sam’s tremendous respect for Fred Meijer.
In the late 60s Meijer moved their growing headquarters to Grand Rapids, 30 miles to the south. Today their 160+ stores, still privately owned by the Meijer family, are run from there rather than Greenville.
Fred Meijer, who celebrated his 85th birthday last week, has donated millions to his hometown. His store no. 1, which has been replaced with a new store on the outskirts of Greenville sits empty. Meijer has offered to sell the 140,000 sf centrally located store to the city for $1, hoping that it can be reused by the city or non-profits in the town.
Let me finish with some of the “what ifs” that went thru my mind as I toured Greenville last week. What if Hendrik Meijer had rented that empty space out to someone rather than starting a grocery store? What if he had decided to start a furniture store instead of a grocery store? What if Fred Meijer hadn’t moved the company headquarters to Grand Rapids? What if Sam Walton had moved out of Bentonville, Arkansas with his headquarters when he went public?
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Ice Boxes to Boxed Out—Picking up the Pieces
Not many of you probably remember “ice boxes”, where you put a block of ice into an insulated box to keep food chilled. Gibson Ice Boxes started in Greenville, MI because of the great oak lumber found in the area. It evolved into refrigerators and continued growing, but was sold several times: to White, then to Frigidaire and eventually to Electrolux, a Swedish conglomerate. The 1.5 million square foot plant located in Greenville is the largest single refrigerator plant in the world, turning out 1.6 million refrigerators/year. At one time 6,000 people were employed in the plant, but thru productivity enhancements today 2,700 are employed there. At least they will be until November, 2005.
On October 21, 2003 Electrolux informed the city of Greenville that they could build a new plant in Mexico and save $80 million per year. They gave the city until January 1st to see if they could match the savings to keep the plant in the town of 7,800.
The city went to work. They met with the local union, governor, federal contacts and even the CEO of Electrolux. George Bosanic, city manager of Greenville said, “We refused to give up. We put this together over this 70 day period which involved four holidays.” George pointed out to me that “deer season” is considered an unpublished holiday here, as it is in many rural areas.
They got $36 million/year in concessions from the UAW; $8 million in state and city incentives; 200 acres of land for a new plant; and a new efficient 800,000 sf plant that would be leased to the company. The new plant would allow Electrolux to reduce their workforce by 650, while keeping production at 1.6 million units/year. In all the incentives and cost savings amounted to $76 million/year.
But to Electrolux it wasn’t enough and they announced on January 10, 2004 that the plant would close in November, 2005. It was a blow to the town and national and international media picked up the story of how a small town tried to save their plant to no avail.
And, are they now giving up? Nope! The publicity has generated a lot of interest in the town. Bosanic told me, “I’m now working with 24 companies that are looking at us. My goal is to replace ALL of those 2,700 jobs by the time that they close down. We should be making an announcement in the next two months on two new companies that will hire a total of 800 jobs. More announcements will follow.”
With what I saw in Greenville last week, I’m convinced that the closing of Electrolux will be a rough patch in the road, but that they will look back on it as a turning point in the town. And a turning point for the better.
On October 21, 2003 Electrolux informed the city of Greenville that they could build a new plant in Mexico and save $80 million per year. They gave the city until January 1st to see if they could match the savings to keep the plant in the town of 7,800.
The city went to work. They met with the local union, governor, federal contacts and even the CEO of Electrolux. George Bosanic, city manager of Greenville said, “We refused to give up. We put this together over this 70 day period which involved four holidays.” George pointed out to me that “deer season” is considered an unpublished holiday here, as it is in many rural areas.
They got $36 million/year in concessions from the UAW; $8 million in state and city incentives; 200 acres of land for a new plant; and a new efficient 800,000 sf plant that would be leased to the company. The new plant would allow Electrolux to reduce their workforce by 650, while keeping production at 1.6 million units/year. In all the incentives and cost savings amounted to $76 million/year.
But to Electrolux it wasn’t enough and they announced on January 10, 2004 that the plant would close in November, 2005. It was a blow to the town and national and international media picked up the story of how a small town tried to save their plant to no avail.
And, are they now giving up? Nope! The publicity has generated a lot of interest in the town. Bosanic told me, “I’m now working with 24 companies that are looking at us. My goal is to replace ALL of those 2,700 jobs by the time that they close down. We should be making an announcement in the next two months on two new companies that will hire a total of 800 jobs. More announcements will follow.”
With what I saw in Greenville last week, I’m convinced that the closing of Electrolux will be a rough patch in the road, but that they will look back on it as a turning point in the town. And a turning point for the better.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
More Jobs than Citizens
Two of the small towns in Steuben County, IN that I visited this week have more jobs than they have citizens. You don’t find one of these type of towns very often and it is the first time that I’ve found two in one county.
Ashley, IN is a town of 1,010 with 1,560 people working in the community. They have 8 manufacturing companies, each with from 10 to 500 employees. In 2000 they ONLY had about 1,000 people working there. They lost two manufacturers in the early 2000s, but both buildings are now occupied with internal expansions.
Fremont, IN is a town of 1,600 with 2,000 working in the town. They also lost a couple of manufacturers in the early 2000s, but have continued to grow their industrial base as the economy has grown in the past several years. One of their companies is doing a $30 million expansion that will add 50 new jobs to their base of 250.
The town also has a brand new $2 million library that is very impressive. You can tell that it is a community on the move.
I love these small towns that are showing all of the nay sayers wrong.
Ashley, IN is a town of 1,010 with 1,560 people working in the community. They have 8 manufacturing companies, each with from 10 to 500 employees. In 2000 they ONLY had about 1,000 people working there. They lost two manufacturers in the early 2000s, but both buildings are now occupied with internal expansions.
Fremont, IN is a town of 1,600 with 2,000 working in the town. They also lost a couple of manufacturers in the early 2000s, but have continued to grow their industrial base as the economy has grown in the past several years. One of their companies is doing a $30 million expansion that will add 50 new jobs to their base of 250.
The town also has a brand new $2 million library that is very impressive. You can tell that it is a community on the move.
I love these small towns that are showing all of the nay sayers wrong.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Manufacturing Growing?
I was in Steuben County, IN this week doing the keynote talk for their first annual economic development meeting. This is a new organization that is focused upon creating new opportunities in this most northeast county in the state. It’s led by Gary Nielander, an ED veteran who is enthused with the potential. His organization is supported by the 7 towns in the county, the county government, various chambers, and six local companies.
The county of 34,000 is blessed with over 100 lakes, one of which is the third largest natural lake in the state. There are nine golf courses in the county along with a gorgeous state park that I stayed at. Several of the golf courses are brand new championship caliber ones. The county “has been discovered” by city dwellers within 3 hours of this crossroads community like Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis. Having interstates 80, 90 and 69 all crossing within the county is a huge advantage.
The county has a very strong manufacturing base with 91 different companies, one of the most diversified bases that I’ve seen in a county this size. These manufacturers account for 37% of the jobs in the county and have an average pay of $34,400. The county’s unemployment rate soared to 9.2% in the recession of 2001, but is now down to 5.8% as local companies have expanded.
One local company that announced an expansion at the annual meeting was Vestil Manufacturing Company which moved here in the mid 80s. Entrepreneur and CEO Ralph Trine is starting a $4 million expansion that will add 75 jobs to his base of 200 employees. He is a globally orientated executive with a manufacturing operation in China. But, he is expanding operations in Angola, fully knowing that not all manufacturing is going to move to China. I’m sure that this will come as a surprise to Lou Dobbs and several others in the media who prefer to only look at gloom and doom and not at what a resilient manufacturing base we have in this country.
The county of 34,000 is blessed with over 100 lakes, one of which is the third largest natural lake in the state. There are nine golf courses in the county along with a gorgeous state park that I stayed at. Several of the golf courses are brand new championship caliber ones. The county “has been discovered” by city dwellers within 3 hours of this crossroads community like Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Ft. Wayne and Indianapolis. Having interstates 80, 90 and 69 all crossing within the county is a huge advantage.
The county has a very strong manufacturing base with 91 different companies, one of the most diversified bases that I’ve seen in a county this size. These manufacturers account for 37% of the jobs in the county and have an average pay of $34,400. The county’s unemployment rate soared to 9.2% in the recession of 2001, but is now down to 5.8% as local companies have expanded.
One local company that announced an expansion at the annual meeting was Vestil Manufacturing Company which moved here in the mid 80s. Entrepreneur and CEO Ralph Trine is starting a $4 million expansion that will add 75 jobs to his base of 200 employees. He is a globally orientated executive with a manufacturing operation in China. But, he is expanding operations in Angola, fully knowing that not all manufacturing is going to move to China. I’m sure that this will come as a surprise to Lou Dobbs and several others in the media who prefer to only look at gloom and doom and not at what a resilient manufacturing base we have in this country.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Fed up in the Holland Tunnel
He was a national marketing manager for Sony. She was advertising copy chief for Macy’s. They lived in New Jersey but worked in Manhattan. “After getting stuck for the 15th time in Holland Tunnel, I decided that enough was enough and we moved to Sandpoint, Idaho,” said he.
And so began a new business, one that no one noticed or probably even gave much chance of survival when it started from scratch in 1984 in the town of 5,000 in northern Idaho. Their first catalog had 18 items in it. By 1991 they were doing $11 million in sales. Today they do $500 million as a public company, but one that is still headquartered in Sandpoint. The company is Coldwater Creek and the founders, Dennis and Ann Pence, still run the company from the charming town on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille.
My wife and I visited their main store this weekend, which is built over the actual Coldwater Creek on an old bridge which used to link the town to the train station. The bridge/store is often featured in their catalog. When we were there, a group of Tibetan monks were doing sand art in the store, raising funds to help Tibet.
Having one nationally know company in a town this size is quite impressive. How about two? Also located in Sandpoint is Lighthouse Dressings, which started out of a local restaurant.
Schweitzer Ski Resort is a destination ski area that is located just outside of town. The town offers numerous music and arts festivals, the largest of which is in August when the football field is covered with a tent and musical groups from all over the country are brought in to perform. The average house in Sandpoint is under $150,000. The town has a small town, artsy charm.
You’d hardly know that the entire economy was at one time totally dependent upon timber milling. The timber mills all moved out by the mid 90s, but the new economy of entrepreneurs and artisans is going to be a much better one for great places like Sandpoint.
Many think that Sandpoint is the next Jackson Hole, Wyoming and that it has many of the same characteristics of that town in 1970.
And so began a new business, one that no one noticed or probably even gave much chance of survival when it started from scratch in 1984 in the town of 5,000 in northern Idaho. Their first catalog had 18 items in it. By 1991 they were doing $11 million in sales. Today they do $500 million as a public company, but one that is still headquartered in Sandpoint. The company is Coldwater Creek and the founders, Dennis and Ann Pence, still run the company from the charming town on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille.
My wife and I visited their main store this weekend, which is built over the actual Coldwater Creek on an old bridge which used to link the town to the train station. The bridge/store is often featured in their catalog. When we were there, a group of Tibetan monks were doing sand art in the store, raising funds to help Tibet.
Having one nationally know company in a town this size is quite impressive. How about two? Also located in Sandpoint is Lighthouse Dressings, which started out of a local restaurant.
Schweitzer Ski Resort is a destination ski area that is located just outside of town. The town offers numerous music and arts festivals, the largest of which is in August when the football field is covered with a tent and musical groups from all over the country are brought in to perform. The average house in Sandpoint is under $150,000. The town has a small town, artsy charm.
You’d hardly know that the entire economy was at one time totally dependent upon timber milling. The timber mills all moved out by the mid 90s, but the new economy of entrepreneurs and artisans is going to be a much better one for great places like Sandpoint.
Many think that Sandpoint is the next Jackson Hole, Wyoming and that it has many of the same characteristics of that town in 1970.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
The Dream of a Local Entrepreneur
Who would think of making a $60 million investment in a small town that “was out in the boondocks and had a reputation for being the center of Aryan Nation, a group of dangerous, vociferous right wing extremists?”
Maintain Local Control is one of the 7 ½ keys in my book. I found that it is often the local people who are willing to take risks for the betterment of their community that someone from the outside might not be willing to make. I found such a local person in Coeur d’Alene, a small town that once had the Aryan Nation reputation. But, largely because of the efforts of Duane Hagadone and his partner Jerry Jaeger, today Coeur d’Alene is developing a cosmopolitan reputation.
Duane Hagadone was born and raised in Coeur d’Alene which had a population of around 10,000 when he was growing up, the son of the publisher of the local newspaper owned by Scripps. Duane started working at the paper when he was 20 in advertising sales and Scripps named him publisher when his father passed away at the age of 49. He later bought out the Scripps and started buying other small town newspapers when he was still in his 20s, amassing a collection of newspapers in the northwest and Hawaii along with other businesses. But he had a dream…a dream to have a world class resort in his hometown, even though he had never owned a hotel.
The North Shore Motor Hotel, an old, two building, multi-storied hotel sat on the site that he coveted for this dream. Most of the rooms faced the parking lot, not the picturesque Lake Coeur d’Alene, but Hagadone who was in his late 40s got a right of first refusal if the North Shore was ever sold. The buyers decided to sell and he formed a partnership with Jerry Jaeger, 15 years his junior, an experienced hotel operator and also from Coeur d’Alene. He was born in Ritzville, WA (see my post of December 5th) that is known for being the birthplace of a number of Fortune 500 CEOs. Has anyone tested the water in Ritzville? He moved to Coeur d’Alene when he was in high school.
Hagadone’s dream was big, really big! He and Jaeger decided to build a showplace, destination resort with 338 rooms that resembles a Swiss Chalet or Bavarian Castle. The Coeur d’Alene, A Resort on the Lake opened on May 9, 1986. Idaho’s governor called it, “the biggest happening in Idaho since Averill Harriman built Sun Valley.” The “experts” predicted that it was in the wrong town, the hotel too big and that it would bring Hagadone/Jaeger to their knees. They were wrong.
The resort was an immediate success. Its location close to nature, next to a quaint downtown and only 40 minutes from an international airport (Spokane) quickly turned Coeur d’Alene into a destination location. Conde Nast’s readers voted it The Top Mainland Resort, one of many awards for the resort.
The Hagadone/Jaeger partnership has expanded into other resort and recreational locations, but they’ve continued to invest in Coeur d’Alene. One of their other notable projects in the town is the construction of The Coeur d’Alene, a world class golf course that features the first and only floating golf green. This green of 15,000 square feet, is 10 feet deep (5 below water), features 2 sand traps and 5 big trees, and weighs 5 million pounds.
A local entrepreneur…a dream….a transformation for a small town!
Maintain Local Control is one of the 7 ½ keys in my book. I found that it is often the local people who are willing to take risks for the betterment of their community that someone from the outside might not be willing to make. I found such a local person in Coeur d’Alene, a small town that once had the Aryan Nation reputation. But, largely because of the efforts of Duane Hagadone and his partner Jerry Jaeger, today Coeur d’Alene is developing a cosmopolitan reputation.
Duane Hagadone was born and raised in Coeur d’Alene which had a population of around 10,000 when he was growing up, the son of the publisher of the local newspaper owned by Scripps. Duane started working at the paper when he was 20 in advertising sales and Scripps named him publisher when his father passed away at the age of 49. He later bought out the Scripps and started buying other small town newspapers when he was still in his 20s, amassing a collection of newspapers in the northwest and Hawaii along with other businesses. But he had a dream…a dream to have a world class resort in his hometown, even though he had never owned a hotel.
The North Shore Motor Hotel, an old, two building, multi-storied hotel sat on the site that he coveted for this dream. Most of the rooms faced the parking lot, not the picturesque Lake Coeur d’Alene, but Hagadone who was in his late 40s got a right of first refusal if the North Shore was ever sold. The buyers decided to sell and he formed a partnership with Jerry Jaeger, 15 years his junior, an experienced hotel operator and also from Coeur d’Alene. He was born in Ritzville, WA (see my post of December 5th) that is known for being the birthplace of a number of Fortune 500 CEOs. Has anyone tested the water in Ritzville? He moved to Coeur d’Alene when he was in high school.
Hagadone’s dream was big, really big! He and Jaeger decided to build a showplace, destination resort with 338 rooms that resembles a Swiss Chalet or Bavarian Castle. The Coeur d’Alene, A Resort on the Lake opened on May 9, 1986. Idaho’s governor called it, “the biggest happening in Idaho since Averill Harriman built Sun Valley.” The “experts” predicted that it was in the wrong town, the hotel too big and that it would bring Hagadone/Jaeger to their knees. They were wrong.
The resort was an immediate success. Its location close to nature, next to a quaint downtown and only 40 minutes from an international airport (Spokane) quickly turned Coeur d’Alene into a destination location. Conde Nast’s readers voted it The Top Mainland Resort, one of many awards for the resort.
The Hagadone/Jaeger partnership has expanded into other resort and recreational locations, but they’ve continued to invest in Coeur d’Alene. One of their other notable projects in the town is the construction of The Coeur d’Alene, a world class golf course that features the first and only floating golf green. This green of 15,000 square feet, is 10 feet deep (5 below water), features 2 sand traps and 5 big trees, and weighs 5 million pounds.
A local entrepreneur…a dream….a transformation for a small town!
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Agurbs® in “America’s Switzerland”
After doing my talk in Spokane WA on Friday, my wife and I were planning on going to Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho, two of my golden eagles or top 100 agurbs® in the country. But, the weather forecast was for a snowstorm of 12 to 14 inches of snow. We almost cut our trip short and headed home early. I’m glad we didn’t. The weather man was wrong and we had a great time.
Both agurbs® were unique in their own way, offered some fantastic natural beauty, and showed me some additional, wonderful examples of how local or transplanted entrepreneurs can transform a community for the better. One of these entrepreneurs you’ve probably never heard of. The other’s catalog is probably sitting on your coffee table.
The two towns, located in the northern panhandle of Idaho, are about an hour apart. This area of the country has often been called “America’s Switzerland” with beautiful natural lakes that sit at the foot of soaring mountains. It offers four seasons, but with a winter season that isn’t as brutal as you would imagine at its latitude.
Both agurbs® were unique in their own way, offered some fantastic natural beauty, and showed me some additional, wonderful examples of how local or transplanted entrepreneurs can transform a community for the better. One of these entrepreneurs you’ve probably never heard of. The other’s catalog is probably sitting on your coffee table.
The two towns, located in the northern panhandle of Idaho, are about an hour apart. This area of the country has often been called “America’s Switzerland” with beautiful natural lakes that sit at the foot of soaring mountains. It offers four seasons, but with a winter season that isn’t as brutal as you would imagine at its latitude.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Bed Burning
I’ve been preaching for sometime that a town can’t be just a bedroom community. It is a loser’s game. It’s impossible to win.
The reason? Research that I found when I wrote Boomtown USA done by the American Farmland Trust, on over 100 towns scattered all over the country, showed that residents in a town get $1.17 back in city services like fire, police, water, sewer, schools, etc. for every $1 they pay in property taxes. Commercial and Industrial firms get $0.27 back for every $1 they pay. One city manager in Arizona told me that they calculated it at $1.75 for every dollar that the residents paid.
Post Falls, ID is a town of 17,000 midway between Spokane, WA and Coeur d’Alene, ID. Some called it a bedroom community for these two booming communities. But Post Falls understood the ramifications of taking that path. They wanted to stress this to their residents. They held a bed burning party, actually burning a bed.
Burn your beds! Make sure that you have a diversified economy and don’t just depend upon people choosing your town because it is a nice place to raise a family.
The reason? Research that I found when I wrote Boomtown USA done by the American Farmland Trust, on over 100 towns scattered all over the country, showed that residents in a town get $1.17 back in city services like fire, police, water, sewer, schools, etc. for every $1 they pay in property taxes. Commercial and Industrial firms get $0.27 back for every $1 they pay. One city manager in Arizona told me that they calculated it at $1.75 for every dollar that the residents paid.
Post Falls, ID is a town of 17,000 midway between Spokane, WA and Coeur d’Alene, ID. Some called it a bedroom community for these two booming communities. But Post Falls understood the ramifications of taking that path. They wanted to stress this to their residents. They held a bed burning party, actually burning a bed.
Burn your beds! Make sure that you have a diversified economy and don’t just depend upon people choosing your town because it is a nice place to raise a family.
Bring Back the Kids
John Larson is one of those serial entrepreneurs that are going to be cultivated by more communities in the future. He started out in the Lake Tahoe/Reno area, sold his business for millions and moved to the small town of Winthrop, Washington (population 350).
His new entrepreneurial endeavor is homemovie.com, a company that will take your home movies, digitize them and put them on the web so that you can share them with family and friends. The company has been written up in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Parade and other publications. It is cutting edge!
Larson’s growing company is becoming a key employer in Winthrop and Larson is investing in fixing up the historic downtown area. Already he has spent over $1 million into this effort.
But, he needs more workers and he wants to encourage other entrepreneurs to start businesses in Winthrop. He has a new website www.bringbackthekids.com that is focused upon doing just that. I love the first page of the website:
You know who they are…..
They used to live here, too
Now they only visit on holidays
Wouldn’t it be nice to have them home again?
His new entrepreneurial endeavor is homemovie.com, a company that will take your home movies, digitize them and put them on the web so that you can share them with family and friends. The company has been written up in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Parade and other publications. It is cutting edge!
Larson’s growing company is becoming a key employer in Winthrop and Larson is investing in fixing up the historic downtown area. Already he has spent over $1 million into this effort.
But, he needs more workers and he wants to encourage other entrepreneurs to start businesses in Winthrop. He has a new website www.bringbackthekids.com that is focused upon doing just that. I love the first page of the website:
You know who they are…..
They used to live here, too
Now they only visit on holidays
Wouldn’t it be nice to have them home again?
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Tapping into Alumni’s Fond Remembrances
I found it! I finally found it! For years I have been preaching to economic development groups that they had a HUGE untapped resource that no one was tapping into. But various groups, all protecting their turf (I call it “silo mentality”), prevented towns from exploiting it. I hoped to find an example of someone who was mining this fantastic database, but searched in vain. Until today!
I was in Spokane, WA for the Inland Northwest Partners, a regional ED group in NE WA and Northern ID. Maury Forman, renowned author of numerous economic development books, coordinates the group. The theme of the conference was “Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Spirit & Reaping the Benefits”. One of the great benefits of traveling all over the country giving talks on my book, is being able to attend conferences like this and meeting some very passionate, dedicated economic development pros.
Spokane has figured it out and worked thru various egos to market their city to alumni of area universities. They are doing funky post cards that various ED groups in the city can use in this campaign (www.movetospokane.com). They also are attending alumni events, profiling recent returnees in alumni magazines and promoting the city at sporting events around the country.
They sent a “With over one billion dollars invested in the Spokane region you may not recognize it…Relax, Dick’s Drive-In is still here” large post card to 300 local alumni in Washington, DC. They had 50 attend a reception, have already had one move back to Spokane and two others contemplating a move back.
A “Sure, 76 surrounding lakes may be a bit excessive, but you’ll have to take that one up with mother nature” post card aimed at Southern California had a firm with 4 partners in the financial services industry move to Seattle.
Their most popular post card is one that says, “I love traffic” on the front and points out that the average commute time in most major cities is about 45 minutes compared to 20 minutes in Spokane.
Ritzville, WA, a small town of 2,000 that is 60 miles west of Spokane, is doing a similar campaign with their high school grads. They have 3 former grads that are today Fortune 500 CEOs and hope to tap into them and other former grads fond memories of their hometown.
Why doesn’t every ED group in America do this?
I was in Spokane, WA for the Inland Northwest Partners, a regional ED group in NE WA and Northern ID. Maury Forman, renowned author of numerous economic development books, coordinates the group. The theme of the conference was “Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Spirit & Reaping the Benefits”. One of the great benefits of traveling all over the country giving talks on my book, is being able to attend conferences like this and meeting some very passionate, dedicated economic development pros.
Spokane has figured it out and worked thru various egos to market their city to alumni of area universities. They are doing funky post cards that various ED groups in the city can use in this campaign (www.movetospokane.com). They also are attending alumni events, profiling recent returnees in alumni magazines and promoting the city at sporting events around the country.
They sent a “With over one billion dollars invested in the Spokane region you may not recognize it…Relax, Dick’s Drive-In is still here” large post card to 300 local alumni in Washington, DC. They had 50 attend a reception, have already had one move back to Spokane and two others contemplating a move back.
A “Sure, 76 surrounding lakes may be a bit excessive, but you’ll have to take that one up with mother nature” post card aimed at Southern California had a firm with 4 partners in the financial services industry move to Seattle.
Their most popular post card is one that says, “I love traffic” on the front and points out that the average commute time in most major cities is about 45 minutes compared to 20 minutes in Spokane.
Ritzville, WA, a small town of 2,000 that is 60 miles west of Spokane, is doing a similar campaign with their high school grads. They have 3 former grads that are today Fortune 500 CEOs and hope to tap into them and other former grads fond memories of their hometown.
Why doesn’t every ED group in America do this?
A Rich Heritage from Architecture and Arts to Entrepreneurism
I almost bought a Frank Lloyd Wright house for $30,000 in 1988. As you could imagine, there was a catch. The house had to be moved because a local church in Mason City, IA had bought the property and unless someone moved it, they were going to tear it down. After I found out how much it weighed, I quickly lost interest. But a group of local preservationists bought the house, moved it a couple of blocks and restored it back to its old majesty. I’m glad they did.
Mason City is blessed to have numerous Wright creations including several houses, a hotel modeled after the Imperial Hotel that he designed in Tokyo, and a waterfall. Walter Burley Griffin, another Prairie School architect designed a very unique house that is built into the side of a hill. It looks like a rock jutting out of the cliff.
Today several banks and commercial buildings in Mason City are designed in the Prairie style. It offers a unique charm to this great agurb®.
Meredith Willson, who wrote The Music Man, was born and raised in Mason City and River City was modeled after his hometown. A few years ago a local foundation built the Music Man Square, a meeting center with an authentic indoor re-creation of River City from the movie. There also is a Meredith Willson Footbridge over the river.
However, a lesser known local might have an even greater influence on Mason City and the entire state of Iowa with his philanthropy. John Pappajohn, 78 years old, was born and raised in Mason City. He made his first fortune in insurance and his second in Venture Capital. Today he is funding Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers throughout Iowa, including Mason City. These centers, aimed at improving the entrepreneurial skills of Iowans could be a major springboard for the entire state in this new century.
Mason City is blessed to have numerous Wright creations including several houses, a hotel modeled after the Imperial Hotel that he designed in Tokyo, and a waterfall. Walter Burley Griffin, another Prairie School architect designed a very unique house that is built into the side of a hill. It looks like a rock jutting out of the cliff.
Today several banks and commercial buildings in Mason City are designed in the Prairie style. It offers a unique charm to this great agurb®.
Meredith Willson, who wrote The Music Man, was born and raised in Mason City and River City was modeled after his hometown. A few years ago a local foundation built the Music Man Square, a meeting center with an authentic indoor re-creation of River City from the movie. There also is a Meredith Willson Footbridge over the river.
However, a lesser known local might have an even greater influence on Mason City and the entire state of Iowa with his philanthropy. John Pappajohn, 78 years old, was born and raised in Mason City. He made his first fortune in insurance and his second in Venture Capital. Today he is funding Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers throughout Iowa, including Mason City. These centers, aimed at improving the entrepreneurial skills of Iowans could be a major springboard for the entire state in this new century.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
An Agurb® Moving from Bricks to Clicks
\ Mason City, Iowa is an old industrial city of 29,000 in north central Iowa. I first visited it in the early 80s and often stayed overnight in the town in the late 80s and early 90s. It always impressed me as being a very nice town. The people were friendly. The yards were well kept. It radiated a certain charm. But, I hadn’t been back since 1992.
I was surprised when I first drove back into town after 12 years by the expansion of retail in the town, which was incredible. There were half dozen new big box retailers, numerous smaller stores and a handful of new auto dealers at the main entrance to the city. Mason City’s unique downtown also seemed to be doing well.
I’d picked it as an agurb® for my book and I knew I’d made a good pick when I saw how Mason City has expanded and diversified their job base. Several of the old line industries that helped make the city the largest in the northern 1/3 of Iowa are long gone like the Armour packing plant and the brick plants, but their two cement plants are still going strong. They’ve added to that base with food plants like Kraft (Jell-O pudding cups); ConAgra (hot dogs, bacon and ham production); and Cargill (liquid eggs primarily for McDonalds). They’ve got some local entrepreneurial manufacturers, a new $400 million power plant, and a new $56 million ethanol plant that will use 15 million bushel of corn per year. There is a good diversity in their industrial base.
And Mason City is moving from their old bricks industries into a “clicks society” where knowledge trumps brawn. They are leveraging their strengths as regional financial, insurance and medical centers to create more white collar and high tech jobs. Their location along the interstates I35 and Avenue of the Saints (St. Louis to St. Paul) also offers them some opportunities in the growing distribution industry.
I was surprised when I first drove back into town after 12 years by the expansion of retail in the town, which was incredible. There were half dozen new big box retailers, numerous smaller stores and a handful of new auto dealers at the main entrance to the city. Mason City’s unique downtown also seemed to be doing well.
I’d picked it as an agurb® for my book and I knew I’d made a good pick when I saw how Mason City has expanded and diversified their job base. Several of the old line industries that helped make the city the largest in the northern 1/3 of Iowa are long gone like the Armour packing plant and the brick plants, but their two cement plants are still going strong. They’ve added to that base with food plants like Kraft (Jell-O pudding cups); ConAgra (hot dogs, bacon and ham production); and Cargill (liquid eggs primarily for McDonalds). They’ve got some local entrepreneurial manufacturers, a new $400 million power plant, and a new $56 million ethanol plant that will use 15 million bushel of corn per year. There is a good diversity in their industrial base.
And Mason City is moving from their old bricks industries into a “clicks society” where knowledge trumps brawn. They are leveraging their strengths as regional financial, insurance and medical centers to create more white collar and high tech jobs. Their location along the interstates I35 and Avenue of the Saints (St. Louis to St. Paul) also offers them some opportunities in the growing distribution industry.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Iowa Tax Credits for Communities
Two new initiatives discussed at the Community Collaboration in Spencer, Iowa this week have the possibility to help transform small towns and counties throughout Iowa. And, they will be jump started with state tax credits, allowing local people to take some of their taxes to directly help their region.
The Regional Angel Investor Network (http://www.rainstreet.com/) will help regions in Iowa to fund entrepreneurs in their areas. As I’ve written before, I believe that the start-up and recruiting in of entrepreneurs will be the paradigm shift of economic development in the 21st Century. Iowa gets it and is doing something about trying to help fund entrepreneurs.
Another new program in the state is Endow Iowa (http://www.iowasmartidea.com/--/endowiowa) which also uses state tax credits to help start Community Foundations like the one I was at in Winfield, Kansas a few weeks ago. We are going to witness the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the USA and communities that have the vehicle of a Community Foundation to recirculate these funds will be able to do good things forever for their local citizens.
Iowa understands the importance of “place” and is looking at ways to keep their small towns functioning and flourishing for decades into the future.
The Regional Angel Investor Network (http://www.rainstreet.com/) will help regions in Iowa to fund entrepreneurs in their areas. As I’ve written before, I believe that the start-up and recruiting in of entrepreneurs will be the paradigm shift of economic development in the 21st Century. Iowa gets it and is doing something about trying to help fund entrepreneurs.
Another new program in the state is Endow Iowa (http://www.iowasmartidea.com/--/endowiowa) which also uses state tax credits to help start Community Foundations like the one I was at in Winfield, Kansas a few weeks ago. We are going to witness the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the USA and communities that have the vehicle of a Community Foundation to recirculate these funds will be able to do good things forever for their local citizens.
Iowa understands the importance of “place” and is looking at ways to keep their small towns functioning and flourishing for decades into the future.
Regionalism on the Rise
Wednesday, I was the keynote speaker at Community Collaboration, a regional initiative for economic development in Spencer, Iowa. This northwest area of Iowa started to do economic development marketing on a regional basis in 1992. Today they are looking to expand their work geographically and the conference included several counties from SW Minnesota.
Why more regionalism? Entrepreneurs and companies looking to move to an area don’t care about boundaries, whether they are city, county or even state borders. They are looking for quality of life for themselves and their employees and cooperation and collaboration from the various entities in an area.
Regions that can come together to help develop their competitive advantage and use that advantage to create some critical mass and clusters will be the winners in the long run. There were several great examples of cooperation cited at the conference taking place in NW Iowa and SW Minnesota. With the enthusiasm and interest displayed by this group I’m guessing that it will grow and prosper in the future.
Why more regionalism? Entrepreneurs and companies looking to move to an area don’t care about boundaries, whether they are city, county or even state borders. They are looking for quality of life for themselves and their employees and cooperation and collaboration from the various entities in an area.
Regions that can come together to help develop their competitive advantage and use that advantage to create some critical mass and clusters will be the winners in the long run. There were several great examples of cooperation cited at the conference taking place in NW Iowa and SW Minnesota. With the enthusiasm and interest displayed by this group I’m guessing that it will grow and prosper in the future.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
A Revitalized Downtown….Priceless!
South Bound Brook, NJ changed the look and image of their small town by redeveloping the ancient GAF factory site, an old asbestos shingle manufacturing site. Having 20,000 cars/day driving by this dilapidated site created a horrible image for the entire town. Mayor Schubert and the city council worked diligently to get this eyesore turned into something they could be proud of.
It took a lot of work, but the hard work is paying off today. In the works on the site are 152 townhouses, a 25,000 sf retail shopping area and upscale apartments above the shopping area. Restoration of 1500 feet of the historical Delaware and Raritan Canal is also underway with a footpath along the canal connecting this project to the adjacent downtown area.
Today South Bound Brook is branding themselves with a canal barge and the mules that pulled the barges on it.
As Mayor Schubert said, “New Residential Townhouses $50 million; New Retail and Apartment Development $6 million; A Revitalized Downtown…..Priceless!”
It took a lot of work, but the hard work is paying off today. In the works on the site are 152 townhouses, a 25,000 sf retail shopping area and upscale apartments above the shopping area. Restoration of 1500 feet of the historical Delaware and Raritan Canal is also underway with a footpath along the canal connecting this project to the adjacent downtown area.
Today South Bound Brook is branding themselves with a canal barge and the mules that pulled the barges on it.
As Mayor Schubert said, “New Residential Townhouses $50 million; New Retail and Apartment Development $6 million; A Revitalized Downtown…..Priceless!”
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
True Leaders Come for Everywhere
At a NAIOP Conference in Edison, NJ this week one of the speakers was Jo-Anne Schubert, mayor of South Bound Brook, NJ. She wasn’t born in the town of 5,000 and in 1996 when she first ran against the two term mayor who had been born in the town--as she says, “I was still considered an outsider even after living there for 18 years.”
As she related, “The old mayor was comfortable with us being a bedroom town and we needed a vision and balance for the town. We had lost a major plant in the late 80s that took up 12 acres right in our downtown area and it was the death of the community. We had to do something to turn the town around. So I ran. My husband told me: “if you win, that’s great. If you lose we are moving.” She won big.
The factory site that needed to be cleaned up wasn’t any site. It was where asbestos shingles had been invented and had been an industrial site for over 100 years. It was the pits!
The process of changing the image of their town from “the town that no one wanted to admit they lived in, into a charming little town on the banks of the Raritan River” wasn’t easy, had major bumps in the road and didn’t happen overnight. A 100 year flood caused by Hurricane Floyd in 2000 almost derailed everything. As you could imagine, working through the environmental issues with the site were complicated. Mayor Schubert said, “I’d failed science in high school, but now I’m an expert on environmental issues.”
How did she accomplish such a turnaround? She met constantly with her council, sometimes every night of the week. She went to state and federal sources for funds. She got the citizens involved. The group chosen to do the redevelopment was vetted before 200 local residents in a public hearing where everyone had a vote. She was a dynamo!
Every town would do so well to have a mayor like Mayor Schubert who was told in high school that she wasn’t “college material.” Tomorrow: Redevelopment and Branding in South Bound Brook.
As she related, “The old mayor was comfortable with us being a bedroom town and we needed a vision and balance for the town. We had lost a major plant in the late 80s that took up 12 acres right in our downtown area and it was the death of the community. We had to do something to turn the town around. So I ran. My husband told me: “if you win, that’s great. If you lose we are moving.” She won big.
The factory site that needed to be cleaned up wasn’t any site. It was where asbestos shingles had been invented and had been an industrial site for over 100 years. It was the pits!
The process of changing the image of their town from “the town that no one wanted to admit they lived in, into a charming little town on the banks of the Raritan River” wasn’t easy, had major bumps in the road and didn’t happen overnight. A 100 year flood caused by Hurricane Floyd in 2000 almost derailed everything. As you could imagine, working through the environmental issues with the site were complicated. Mayor Schubert said, “I’d failed science in high school, but now I’m an expert on environmental issues.”
How did she accomplish such a turnaround? She met constantly with her council, sometimes every night of the week. She went to state and federal sources for funds. She got the citizens involved. The group chosen to do the redevelopment was vetted before 200 local residents in a public hearing where everyone had a vote. She was a dynamo!
Every town would do so well to have a mayor like Mayor Schubert who was told in high school that she wasn’t “college material.” Tomorrow: Redevelopment and Branding in South Bound Brook.
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