WEEKLY UPDATE      January 19th, 2007

WHERE'S MY WORKFORCE ...is a cry we're hearing more and more of these days. To address this issue, the OK Gateway Regional Partnership met in Stillwater today to lay down plans for a potential regional workforce study. Companies are much more interested in a region of 225,000 people with a labor force of 110,000 than they are in individual communities with 26,000 people here, 39,000 people there…you get the idea. The regional partners also heard a presentation by OSU on a new relending program the university launched to help businesses in the region. In addition, a resolution was passed supporting the widening of US 177 between Stillwater and Ponca City to better link the two communities. WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOIN' THIS WEEK ...a project for which Ponca City was shortlisted in December keeps shortening their list…and Ponca City is still on that much shorter list. We can't tell you the company 'cause we don't know that name. They are working through a consultant and these hired guns often don't tell you for whom they work. The project is worth about 100 jobs and a significant investment. It involves hi-tech manufacturing and what the consultant calls non-traditional energy. We also provided a proposal this week to a company seeking to expand, toured another small company through a potential site, sent a proposal "to the coast" for another company. Meetings with two of our larger employers took place this week as did two presentations to groups about economic development in Ponca City. PONCA CITY/TONKAWA BOND ...as reported in this week's Ponca City News, Tonkawa and Ponca City have partnered together formally on economic development. PCDA will, in effect, serve as a consultant to Tonkawa but what it really means is that the two communities will start treating the U.S. 60 corridor as a single entity, rather than two communities. PCDA incentives, approved by the voters, will stay in Ponca City and Tonkawa will pay for the services they receive but it allows for greater efficiencies in marketing both communities. TOOLS OF THE TRADE ...PCDA staff has also been busy this week doing data input, (and you thought ED wasn't a glamour job!) in the new ExecutivePulse data base that will allow us to fully manage the existing industry base in Ponca City. It will make services from a variety of governmental organizations more efficient, identify problems before they become problems and bring solutions designed to serve business and create and save jobs. We also trained up on our new GIS system which will launch through the PCDA website sometime this winter. This will allow businesses to do self service economic development from anywhere, something quickly becoming a must in the economic development industry. Finally, PCDA is conducting the ACCRA cost-of-living survey this weekend to document the low cost of living we enjoy. UPCOMING.... Thur. Jan. 18th to Sun. Jan. 21st: ACCRA Cost of Living Survey Wed., Jan 24th-Fri. Jan. 26th: Call trip to Dallas with the Department of Commerce Wed. Jan. 24th: Retail Task Force Meeting, Chamber of Commerce 4 p.m. Ponca City Development Authority 102 S. Fifth Street, Ste. 3, Ponca City, OK 74601 580.765.7070/580.765.0969-fax Or E-Mail - David Myers CEcD - Executive Director Visit Ponca City Development's Latest News Archives © www.goponca.com - Ponca City Development Authority - Ponca City, Oklahoma