(Angola, IN) The Steuben County Economic Development
Corporation Board of Directors announced plans to update the organizations
strategic plan. The existing plan was
adopted in July 2010 and included a number of initiatives aimed at improving
employment opportunities and increasing wealth in the county. A number of the initiatives contained in that
plan have been successfully accomplished or are in the process of being
implemented:
- Necessary
improvements have been made to the rail infrastructure owned and operated by
the Indiana Northeastern Railroad
- Efforts
to prepare and certify sites as shovel ready are being pursued
- A
work ready initiative is actively underway, including many community partners
and county employers
- Collaboration
with the Steuben County Tourism Bureau is underway to create a common branding
effort for the county
- In
partnership with Elevate Ventures and Trine University we are seeing more
effective efforts to spur entrepreneurial development throughout the community
“While several
components of the 2010 plan failed to materialize, we saw other substantial
projects initiated and, in some cases, completed that were not a part of the
plan, such as a new terminal and hanger at the Tri-State Municipal Airport and a
$42 million hospital expansion and $8 million medical office building.”
observed David Koenig, Executive Director of the organization. “We saw a major
expansion of the Pokagon State Park over the past three years.”
The Board of
Directors approved use of a facilitator to assist in the update of the
strategic plan. Three meetings will be
conducted over the coming months to assure opportunity for input from all
segments of the community. The first
will invite external partners to share information on resources and ideas that
may benefit the county’s economic development efforts. The second will focus on internal partners,
such as tourism, foundations, schools and others that can contribute to the
county’s development efforts. And
finally, the Board will conduct a public meeting to present preliminary ideas
and seek input before adopting the updated priorities. The organization is
in the process of reviewing proposals from several facilitators to assist with
the process. The timeline for updating
the plan is expected to move pretty quickly once the selection is made with a
goal of July 2013 for adopting the new road map.
“We hope that our
economic development partners will approach this process with an open mind and
a genuine desire to improve employment in Steuben County. It’s time we move forward with a common
vision and shared set of priorities.” stated Sara Tubergen, President of the
EDC Board of Directors. Meeting dates and
locations will be set in the coming weeks with invitations and notices to
follow.