the Skinny
News from the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council - October 2015 INSIDE: Note from EDC President Rick McDowell... North Star market study.... Bennett Packaging unwraps new machinery... LSEDC kicks off monthly board of directors breakfast... Lee’s Summit adopts economic incentive policy... City approves updated Downtown Master Plan... Follow LSEDC on Instagram
President Update Welcome to the October edition of your Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council newsletter. It’s been a busy month, as the EDC joined the City in celebrating construction of a new runway at Municipal Airport and the unveiling of a significant new business equipment investment for Bennett Packaging.
We’ve also been working to digest findings of North Star Destination Strategy’s comprehensive community study, which we received in October. EDC is continuing to search for a new administrative assistant. We are conducting interviews and hope to have a new person hired by mid-November. Thank you for your continued support of Lee’s Summit EDC. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to call us!
Yours Truly,
Broker Outreach Program Seeks Development Champions As part of our partnership with the City of Lee’s Summit Development Center, LSEDC is seeking local development and brokerage “Champions” to help us engage and reach the Kansas City regional commercial real estate and development community. In January, we will once again invite metro-area commercial brokers and developers to Lee’s Summit for a fun event and to learn more about the ease of doing business here. Stay tuned for details!
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LSEDC Plans Staggered Release of North Star Market Study Report In October, North Star researcher Rupa DeLoach updated LSEDC and the Lee’s Summit City Council on a comprehensive, comparative demographic and industry research study conducted in 2015. Among the findings, Lee’s Summit is seeing tremendous growth in the number of community-minded families making their homes here. The study also identified that Lee’s Summit is ripe for growth in the service sector as well as in light manufacturing companies. The report provides in-depth, local information on the cost of doing business, labor pool, infrastructure and transportation issues. LSEDC plans to release additional findings on this proprietary study in the coming months.
Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council Partners Again with LS Chamber Mark your calendars! The Holiday Party is fast approaching. We will once again co-host the annual celebration with the Chamber on December 2nd. We are pushing for more EDC participation this year than in the past. Help support local business in Lee’s Summit and share a drink with us. Look for more information to come.
Follow us on Social Media! We’re beefing up our social media presence! You can find us on Twitter @LSEconDevC. Please “Like” us on Facebook at Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council and be sure to tag us in your Instagram photos at LSEconDevCo. If you’ve got exciting news you want to share, reach out to Tina Chace at tchace@leessummit.org.
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Bennett Packaging Unwraps One-of-A-Kind Machinery This month, Lee’s Summit EDC along with city officials were delighted to tour Bennett Packaging and check out the company’s first-of-its-kind machinery, which it acquired thanks to local incentives. Congratulations to our EDC investors Doug and Kathy Bennett on your new investment and best wishes for continued growth!
New Investor Spotlight Welcome to the family ~ Rob Lund, Tratos III A Special SHOUT OUT to
Flip Short with Legacy Touch for Movin’ On Up to the Benefactor Level and Advisory Board
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City Scores Big with Royals in the World Series
The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council has partnered with the City of Lee’s Summit through community marketing for a one-of-a-kind opportunity. To be a proud sponsor of our Kansas City Royals return to the World Series for a second straight year. The city’s sponsorship package includes a :30 second commercial in the Royals On-Deck Pregame Show as well as a :30 second spot in the Royals Postgame show, broadcast over the Royal Flagship radio station, 610 Sports Radio. Commercials promoting various dimensions (Economic Development, Restaurants, Health & Wellness and Downtown Lee’s Summit of Lee’s Summit has a wide audience including hundreds of thousands of listeners throughout; Missouri , Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas and South Dakota. The collaborative public/private sector co-op marketing program is seen as an affordable way to create a high level of awareness, interest and curiosity for our City and its diverse offerings. The discounted package (negotiated through the Chamber) represents a fraction of the cost of what it would be for an individual business who choose to go it alone. Marketing our city is not a single function, but the sum of everything Lee’s Summit stands for in the minds and hearts of residents, visitors, businesses and investors. It is important to remember that we are all co-pilots of the brand, so whenever, wherever and however our target audience comes into contact with any and all of our marketing communication components, they’ll receive a consistent, relevant message supporting our great city.
Downtown Lee’s Summit businesses show their window swag!
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LSEDC Kicks Off Monthly Board of Directors Breakfast In an effort to keep our Board more informed and engaged, we have added a meeting to the calendar. The last Thursday morning of every month we will host a Board Breakfast. The format will be an open-candid environment where we will discuss the most up-to-date economic development topics going on in our community. In the past, our organization has been driven by the Executive Committee with support from the Board. While this has worked well for us during the last two years of transition, it is time to start building a force for the many initiatives of the council moving forward. One of the goals I have for this group is to designate task forces to lead projects. We have several studies that have been developed including a Housing Study, Hotel Study and of course the North Star data. Each study provides information that needs action-driven results. Additionally, we have plans in process in the areas of Workfoce Development, Entrepreneurship, Implementation of the Downtown Master Plan and Investor Membership Recruitment and Retention. These committees will require the help of our entire organization and therefore will naturally have a trickle down effect. Investors of all levels are encouraged to get involved for the betterment of economic development in our community. As you know, economic development encompasses many aspects in our city. From transportation and infrastructure to education and workforce, the award-winning Parks and Downtown Main Street - all of these are a huge asset in winning projects to our area. I look forward in working with each of you to make a difference.
William Brown Chairman, Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council
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Lee’s Summit Adopts Amended Downtown Master Plan The City Council has adopted the recommendations of the Downtown Master Plan Task Force, which should encourage investment and development Downtown. The new Master Plan expands the boundaries of Downtown Lee’s Summit and encourages more housing density and parking. It also calls for construction of a permanent Downtown Farmers Market and adds a new “Gateway” to Downtown at Langsford Road. We support the City’s decision to update and revise the original 2004 Downtown Master Plan and look forward to seeing the recommendations implemented!
Lee’s Summit Approves First-Ever Incentive Policy The Lee’s Summit City Council has voiced final approval of the City’s first comprehensive economic development incentive policy. Lee’s Summit EDC wishes to thank the City Council, along with (former) Development Center Director Mark Dunning and City Administrator Steve Arbo, for working with us on this important piece of City policy. This blueprint for economic development will enable Lee’s Summit EDC to continue to attract high quality business investment to Lee’s Summit as well as encourage existing business expansion and retention.
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