St. Clair EDC unveils new strategic plan
After five years experience developing St. Clair County Economic Development Council’s strategic plan, Executive Director Don Smith unveiled a new plan. Officials predict this plan will take efforts to the next level.
Smith disclosed the new plan at the official launch of a $1 million, 5-year capital campaign called Partnership for Tomorrow, which will provide public and private sector funding for 27 goals outlined in the plan.
Speaking to a group of nearly 100 business and civic leaders from the St. Clair County region in Moody last Thursday, Smith talked of the EDC’s early years under former executive directors, Ed Gardner Sr. and Ed Gardner Jr. When the EDC formed its countywide effort in 1988, the focus was on recruitment. Establishing a strong base, the EDC followed up with an emphasis on retail, commercial development and workforce development.
St. Clair County has grown 30 percent a decade for the past four decades, 10 times faster than the state. Now EDC will continue the growth through a strategy of identifying, marketing and building upon its assets.
In the past five years, EDC has announced:
2,510 new jobs created
$73,159,000 in new payrolls
$466,350,000 in commercial and industrial capital investment
$3.3 million in grants awarded locally
$1.2 million new annual property taxes for education
$364,000 in new annual sales tax revenues for education
Its new plan over the next five years calls for:
$150 million in new capital investments
$50 million in additional payroll from new jobs created
$3 million in additional tax revenue for schools
1,500 new jobs throughout the county
Among the goals to achieve those numbers are identifying and marketing 500 acres of sites throughout St. Clair County for economic development. Smith pointed out, “You can’t market what you don’t have,” underscoring the need for site and infrastructure development as the foundation for future successes. He hopes to have properties identified in almost every municipality in the county.
Many of the goals center on marketing, workforce development and educating partners so they are prepared to grow. The EDC also will study the feasibility of a business incubator for start-up businesses.
A brand is to be developed for the county to market its “business friendly assets, tourism and recreation.”
And support will be provided in business, civic and governmental areas to meet the needs of the community.
Smith admitted that the plan is an aggressive one, noting that it will take a team effort to achieve, but it is within reach if all entities work together. “We cannot do it without you all.”
The ultimate aim is to provide opportunities for good paying jobs throughout the county. “If everybody has a good paying job,” Smith said, “it helps out with everything else.”