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Weekly Update

08/15/08

PCDA BOARD TO MEET...the PCDA Board of Trustees will meet for their first post election meeting next Thursday at 7:30 a.m. in the Chamber's Conference Room. On the agenda is the question of extending the partnership with Pioneer Tech on the Plan Room. This has been running for about four years now and provides local contractors and businesses with information about projects that are available to bid. The PTC Plan Room is responsible for more local contracting work than any Career Tech in Oklahoma. You can play cause and effect but the bottom line is that the PCDA Trustees will decide if the price tag for the coming year, which is just north of $12k, provides Ponca City with the return on investment they are seeking. Also on the agenda will be a discussion of housing issues and how to address Ponca City's housing needs for the future. Trustees will also do all of the fun administrative stuff required of a board overseeing public money and vote on whether to deposit funds with the city in order to install the traffic light for the Mertz expansion. We will also welcome and swear at in our two new trustees, if they are appointed by the City Commission on Monday.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON FOR THE WEEK...PCDA uses a geographic information system on the PCDA web site, (www.goponca.com) and this tool allows people looking for everything from available parcels to how much in cosmetics all of the folks who live within three miles of a given parcel spent last year. It helps with companies looking for buildings, (they rarely just want land) who do not want us to know they're looking for buildings. It also helps with demographics for community groups working on grants, retailers deciding what products to carry and a lot more. We do discriminate on available buildings based generally on size but if you know of a large building or industrial property with infrastructure that is not listed, (admission to www.goponca.com, click "available properties") is free so let us know.

THIS WEEK...may not be a lot of fun for kids getting ready to start school again next Wednesday, but it was productive at PCDA. This morning, we finalized arrangements for an International conference we're co-sponsoring in OKC with several other Oklahoma Communities. We do this to bring people to our fair state and the name "Ponca City" will be everywhere. Half of all marketing, it is said, does not work....it's figuring out which half that is that's the challenge. This, however, is a target rich crowd so we're excited to have them here. Also this week, we did follow-up with several projects, harvested two new leads and toured a crew making a DVD on Ponca City to help recruit people, (not just companies). PCDA board and staff also welcomed a VIP Senator Myers brought to town, we worked with OSU staff on a new business development program, met with a Ponca City business on another new business program, met with a new business in OKC, (shush!) met with a Ponca City business seeking a new direction, (no, they're not leaving) and, of course, built buildings.

UPCOMING...

 Tue.-Wed. Aug. 12-13th: Governor's Economic Development Team Conference, Stillwater

 Wed. Aug. 13th: Lucky first day of school in Ponca City. Please drive carefully

 Thur. Aug. 14th: PCDA Board of Trustees August meeting; 7:30 am, Chamber of Commerce

 

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