WEEKLY UPDATE      June 1st, 2007

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO TOWN??? ...this weekend is the official Summer Kick-off Weekend with lots of activities, duly proclaimed by hizzoner Mayor Nicholson. There will be lots of people in town for the Herb Festival, Draggin Grand, Car Shows, etc. There were others, however, that were in town this week that were of great interest to PCDA. Company W was in town on Thursday, looking over sites. Company X met with PCDA staff today. Company Y responded positively to a PCDA proposal and Company Z said they liked PCDA proposal, edition 15, IF we can do A or B. These companies were joined by two other inquiries PCDA received this week about potential company interest in the area. The challenges on these projects are two fold: workforce availability and construction costs. There is a severe shortage of workers in Ponca City and elsewhere. The old dynamic of build it and they will come is not necessarily in play these days as there are very few areas of the United States with high unemployment and Ponca City is certainly, absolutely not one of them. The workforce shortages are also far more acute in skilled crafts but even unskilled jobs are having a difficult time finding people. The strong interest in Ponca City as a business location of choice now creates the opportunity to make Ponca City a location of choice for people too. IF I BUILD IT WILL THEY COME ...the old days of chasing cheap labor are over. Talk to almost any Ponca City industry and they'll tell you that they are paying more, in many cases a lot more, for labor these days. Recent changes in immigration laws have also had an effect on the availability of labor. That doesn't mean affordability does not matter. Companies are seeking lower cost facilities, as in lower operational costs, lower building costs, etc. Building costs everywhere have almost doubled in the last three years making the demand for existing buildings stronger, drying up that inventory. The availability of Bob as an ersatz existing facility has attracted several companies but even Bob needs to be built out. OK GATEWAY REGIONAL PARTNERS ...will meet next Friday, June 8th in Newkirk at the public library. On the agenda is a recap of the just completed legislative session, a look at the US 77 corridor between Newkirk and Kansas and more. The meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. SHORT WEEK??? ...it doesn't seem like it, in addition to the company visits and proposals mentioned above, PCDA staff also conducted the quarterly cost of living survey, worked with two PC companies on new products and markets, did a lot of follow-up to the trade shows and conferences discussed in our last weekly newsletter, (www.goponca.com, click on "archives") worked on several issues relative to the recruitment of workforce with our partners at Pioneer Tech and OESC and handled the mundane tasks of filing and office work, (yep, us too). UPCOMING.... Fri. June 1- Sun. June 3rd: Summer kick-off weekend; www.poncacitytourism.com Fri. May 8th: OK Gateway Regional Meeting, 10:30 a.m., Newkirk Library 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