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Weekly Update

01/15/10

Development Authority
WEEKLY UPDATE
January 15, 2010

THIS WEEK....PCDA spent the week working mostly on recruiting business as there seems to be a mood in the national economy that its time, after two years, to start thinking about growth again. To wit, this week we submitted two proposals on large projects that obviously should be in Ponca City, if only they are smart enough to see it. With Census day approaching on April 1st, (aka "One April" for our friends in the UML) a lot of attention was devoted to getting the word out that we really, really need to have a good count. Exhibit A: we discovered this week, through a review of official data, that there are currently, as in right now, today, as we speak, more jobs in Ponca City than there was on January 1st, 2001, before the 2001 recession, before 9/11, and before that merger we used to talk about. With more jobs in the area, it suggests that there might be more people to fill them so we need to have everyone counted. We also pitched another project and, oh yeah, closed the Northrop deal.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN...yesterday's Ponca City News broke the story that Northrop Grumman was moving a unit to Ponca City cause we're just plain swell. With the UML labs now up and functioning, a partnership between the UML and Northrop Grumman was a match made in economic development heaven, so our first major spin-off from the UML is now in the books. The details were in yesterday's paper but let us take a moment and smell the roses. There is a bright future and it's being built everyday with a big brick laid yesterday.

MAKING THE PITCH...on Wednesday, PCDA was in Atlanta pitching a project to a European company seeking a U.S. location. Standing by PCDA's side was the OK Department of Commerce and our friends from Duncan, who were also invited, (proposals are submitted, a few are picked to make pitches...you get the idea). This is an alternative energy project and PCDA's SAGE initiative was a huge discussion point with our overseas friends. PCDA was up against 15 other communities from seven states who all made their pitches. The company will shortlist five or so communities and make site visits. The weakness in our proposal is that the land we pitched was unavoidably divided by a street. The strength was that it is in Ponca City, of course, and they really liked our new focus on green energy.

LAST DECADE...somehow, we all made it through 2009. December, the last hurrah of an unfortunately unforgettable year was reviewed briefly at yesterday's PCDA Board of Trustees meeting. During that last month of the decade, PCDA contacted 15 new companies. We also met with 43 existing companies, 18 with government officials, 9 with our regional partners and 14 with consultants. At the end of the year, PCDA had 14 projects open with a potential job count of 1,929. Economists are more bullish on 2010, (which is a lot like saying that a surfboard is a much better way of crossing the Atlantic than the Titanic) citing more job losses on a national level in December and saying full job recovery is a ways off. Humbug.

UPCOMING...

 Thur. Jan. 21st: Tonkawa Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet, 7 pm, Tonkawa

 Thur. Jan. 28th: Ponca City Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet, 7 pm, CoP Atrium

 

Ponca City Development Authority. 102 S. Fifth Street, Ste. 3, Ponca City, OK 74601

580.765.7070/580.765.0969-fax, email dmyers@goponca.com, www.goponca.com