March 22, 2024

3/22/2024

Friday | March 22, 2024

FUTURE WORKFORCE

It was Spring Break this week: kids at the Poncan Theatre enjoying a daytime movie, kids on skateboards and bicycles. And let us not forget the scatter of teens walking around town or the 20 almost 16-year-olds who spent the first part of spring break in a two-day driving school classroom right here at City Central. Now is when parents start thinking "What are the kids going to do all summer?" This was just a week; how do we plan two and half months?

There will be many event calendars popping up in the next few months which will list camps (McFadden, Pioneer Technology Center, Girl Power), movies (Poncan Theatre, The Hub) and events (First Fridays, Herb Festival, Sunny Dayz). Don't forget to explore the 30 City Parks, 10+ museums, five disc golf courses, five splash parks, two golf courses and one water park.

You may say, what does all the talk of children have to do with economic development? Why should children be a hot topic? Staff will adamantly reply "Those children are our next/future workforce. And we need them to want to stay in Ponca City or want to come back after college/travel/life happens." How do we do that? Give these kids something to remember fondly right here in Ponca City. And go. Summer is almost here. Keep reading for more hot economic topics.

THE GREAT PIVOT

If you’re familiar with PCDA-speak, you’ve heard us talk about the number of unfilled jobs right now in Ponca City. This is due to the workforce shortage impacting Ponca City for the last ten years or so. What makes it different today is that it hit most of the rest of the U.S. about five years ago. In short, when people have plenty of job opportunities without moving, they don’t move to follow jobs. So, without an available workforce, recruiting new businesses is a challenge. Businesses shopping for a new location are seeking areas that have a workforce surplus (not Ponca City) not a job surplus (Ponca City). In short, you cannot sell what you do not have. As noted above, Ponca City is not alone in this regard. There is a quiet transformation going on throughout North America in the economic development world, a shift from attracting companies to attracting people. This has actually been going on in Ponca City for some time but there is a catch. Seems people need a place to live even if they do consider following a job. Enter the City Commission.

On Monday of this week, the City Commission held a work session and one of the topics was whether or not PCDA should be allowed to provide incentives for both housing and retail. This is part of that quiet shift that is now going loud. The city has done a great deal in these areas, particularly in the housing area, establishing Ponca City as a statewide leader in the development of new rural housing initiatives. The question is whether or not the availability of PCDA incentives, or some other role for PCDA in housing or retail, could help close many of the deals the city has been working on.

Right now, PCDA is not legally allowed to provide incentives for either of these two things. It should come as no surprise when public money is involved the law is pretty clear about what one can and cannot do. Housing has been an issue in town for years and part of the competition for people involves having the retail they want. When PCDA was set up in 2003, it was given a laser focus to create “primary jobs” (think industry). Done. Growing the economy moving forward, however, will look a lot different than it did in 2003. Changing directions (and the law), however, is not something to be taken lightly and there isn’t enough public money to simply add something without taking something away.

The Mayor and Commissioners had a robust conversation on Monday about the future of the Ponca City economy. In many areas, people are sticking their collective heads in the sand and pretending that things have not changed. That was definitely not the posture of the City Commission this week. These conversations will continue in a PCDA committee set up last summer called, wait for it, “The Committee.” Is it jobs or people? Not a simple question and the comments of the Mayor and Commission will now shape the discussion on what this Great Pivot should look like in Ponca City, as well as the role that PCDA will play.

RETAIL VISITORS

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Occasionally, site selectors will find their way to the PCDA office. I mean, it is a big building in the heart of the downtown area. Site selectors are the first people to scout land and or buildings for retailers and companies looking at locations for an expansion or new business. This is due to Ponca City's location (90 minutes from everywhere) and its high pull factor (ability to bring people outside of the community in for shopping and events).

Staff was able to chat with one of these mysterious folks about the above topics this week. They left with a map, traffic counts and the promise of more information to be emailed to them as soon as it can be found and digitized. It was a good day!

PCDA BUSINESS PLAN PITCH-OFF

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The Business Plan Pitch-off is just a few weeks away. Three businesses will pitch to a panel of local judges about why their business should be awarded over $5000 in local incentives. This is where the rubber meets the road, the nose hits the grindstone, the squeaky wheel.... well, you get the idea. These three businesses have submitted a business plan for review and now will get five minutes to pitch their existing or start-up business for incentives.

This is the seventh year for the PCDA Business Plan PItch-off. To date, the businesses that have pitched and those receiving the incentives package, currently support 21 jobs in the Ponca City area. These entrepreneurs sometimes continue to work for themselves (Sizzle Sauce Media) or may have hired several employees (we see you Aesthetic State of Mind). With support from Pioneer Technology Center Business & Industry Services, Oklahoma Small Business Development Center, local bankers and PCDA, all you need to do to start your road less traveled as an entrepreneur is check out this Road Map. What are you waiting for?