SOREDI unit sets committee direction
From our weekly issue dated August 04, 2010
Schedules and processes for a series of subcommittees were the main topics of a 75-minute economic development committee meeting held at the Oregon Employment Dept. (OED) building in Grants Pass on Wednesday afternoon , July 28.
The committee is being facilitated by Michael Smith from Medford-based Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc. (SOREDI). It has a contract with Josephine County to coordinate various economic development projects.
Smith, who is SOREDI business and community development manager for the county, said that the overall goal is to provide a five- to 10-year plan and a series of recommendations to the board of commissioners.
Committee members also will be able to evaluate economic development grant proposals presented to the commissioners, Smith said, and provide an “educated, quality decision.“
Four subcommittees were formed from the larger group, and will focus on areas such as government, clusters, workforce and business support and planning and policy.
The government committee will work on streamlining business permitting and other processes, as well as municipal and jurisdictional issues. Employment, training and entrepreneurial issues will be the purview of the workforce and business support subcommittee. The planning and policy subcommittee will focus on funding and major issues.
Smith said that many of these areas are ones that he already has started working on, but is willing to have them examined by committee members to solicit more input and fresh perspectives.
During August, the subcommittees will conduct what is commonly known in the business world as a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Members of the subcommittees also will prioritize the issues and projects that they consider most important.
Specific action plans will be developed during September, at which point the subcommittees are set to use the advisers assigned to them for technical support. They also will identify community partners and coordinate with them.
Subcommittee members will spend October concentrating on funding the various economic development projects they formulate. Also, establishing performance and progress benchmarks.
By the end of November, the subcommittees are scheduled to draft reports and distribute them to the full committee for review. Those reports will be provided to officials from the county and the cities of Grants Pass and Cave Junction by the end of December.
Presentations will be given to those officials in January after final adjustments are made by committee members.
Smith said that he will facilitate the first few subcommittee meetings, at which point members will pick their own chairmen and vice chairmen. The subcommittees will meet two times per month at the OED building.
Members are limited to two subcommittees each so as to avoid scheduling conflicts and burnout. The full committee will meet again in early October, after all subcommittees have had a chance to meet four times.
Members of the governmental subcommittee include Larry West. He serves on the county“s budget committee. Don Dougherty is another member, and he also serves on the county“s land development advisory committee.
Technical support for that subcommittee will be provided by Steve Dahl, economic development director for the city of Grants Pass; and Bill Peterson, an administrator for Copeland Paving & Gravel, who once was Grants Pass city manager.
The workforce and business support subcommittee will include John Lopez from Rogue Community College, Dahl, Illinois Valley resident Kenny Houck; and Gail Gasso, who manages the OED Medford and Grants Pass offices.
The government and planning and policies subcommittee is set to meet Aug. 4 and 18, and the cluster and workforce committees will meet Aug. 11 and 25.
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