Among discussion leaders at a recent City of Bay City sponsored economic development public sector forum are, from left, State Rep. Joseph Rivet; Jay Schwedler, MEDC; City Manager Robert Belleman; and Commissioner Robert Katt, new mayor. MEDC Pledges Funding for Strategic Plan for Bay County Economic Development
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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has pledged up to half the cost of a strategic plan for economic growth in Bay County.
A recent public sector forum involving cities and townships, organized by City Manager Robert V. Belleman and City Commission President Robert Katt was the event that resulted in the MEDC pledge.
"The recent Economic Development Forum, held in Bay County, has demonstrated a collaborative and consolidated commitment of local leadership," wrote Jay Schwedlerof the MEDC's Community Assistance Team in an Oct. 24 letter to County Executive Thomas L. Hickner. "We would be willing at this time to entertain a request for funding to assist with the strategic planning efforts in Bay County," Schwedler added.
Hickner said the county commission has committed $50,000 for the strategic plan and the MEDC contribution could equal that amount.
"MEDC is willing to assist communities and would be part of the planning process but they want a community-wide effort involving both public and private sectors," Hickner said. Hickner and Dominic Monastiere, president of Chemical Bank-Bay City, have been working for more than a year to bring together public and private sectors to share the costs and structure of anew economic development coalition.
The City of Bay City will wait for the results of the plan, due in January, before deciding on support for, and a financial contribution to, the proposed new coalition. Now the outcome of this decision will depend on the opinions of a new commission, with several new faces, to be seated as a result of the Nov. 4 election.
County Executive Hickner took the microphone during public input at the Nov. 3 city commission meeting to outline the positive effects on government funding that will come with added development.
Hickner said the county's tax base grew by 4.2 percent over the past five years, and, if it had grown at the state average of 7 percent the county's revenues would have been $1.8 million higher and the city's coffers would have been about $2 million richer.
The county executive noted that planning in the mid-1980s resulted in about 15 priorities that were agreed upon through the former Bay County Growth Alliance. Work on many of these priorities has resulted in improvements, including riverfront development, the county executive said.
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