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06/06/08
yoU...Might....Like....to know that Tuesday was a historic day. Yeah, there was that Presidential election stuff but more significantly for our region, the University Multispectral Lab, known as the UML or the National Sensor Testing Center, officially opened in Ponca City America on Tuesday. The UML has been operating for about a year but the new facility, the 70,000 square foot lab donated to Oklahoma State by ConocoPhillips, officially opened its doors this week. This made the front page of the Ponca City News, (under the story about the hardware store fire) so you might have seen it, but, as the Washington DC saying goes, "Everything's been said, its just that not everyone has said it," so this is our turn for this news.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A 21 TO ONE FAVORITE...our favorite economic bookie, (the Belmont Stakes are Saturday, hence the odds and bookie remark. If you have to explain it, Rich...) Dr. Mark Snead of the Oklahoma State University Center for Applied Economic Research, released a study on the impact of the Ponca City economic development sales tax to the economy. The full study is available for your review and book club discussion from the PCDA office but in advance, we thought we would share with you that the study found that for every dollar spent on economic development programs, $21 were returned to the community in terms of direct economic benefits. Of course, you would know this if you read the business section of last Tuesday's Ponca City News but we don't mind rubbing it in.
RUBBING IT IN SOME MORE...Last night in Wichita, PCDA received the award we talked about a couple of weeks ago from Business Retention and Expansion International. We won't bore you with repeating the fact that PCDA won for the best business retention and expansion program for a community of under 50,000 but it is kinda cool to be recognized as having the best business and retention program for a community of under 50,000 so we're just letting you know that we now have the award in hand, (for, uh, having the best BRE >50k).
WEEKLY STUFF...so, besides cutting ribbons, reading studies and getting an award, (for the best, you know, BRE program...) we did do some real work this week. Remember the company we told you we met with last week? Well, we sat face to face with them on Tuesday as they saw our proposal and raised us their proposal. We gave this, they gave that and we're close to something...we think, (we'll know more next week). We also worked on a proposal for another company, continued to talk with a third, and ran between rain drops on our two construction projects. In addition, we lined up marketing materials for a campaign we'll be doing, worked with people responding to our workforce and veterans recovery programs and sent gobs of stuff to a consultant we met who has two retail clients interested in Ponca City.
UPCOMING...
Thur. Jun 12th: State Chamber Annual Meeting, Sheraton, OKC
Fri. Jun 13th: PCDA Trustees June meeting, (changed from June 12th)
Tue. Jun 17-20th: Bio 2008 Trade Show-Oklahoma delegation booth
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