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' East-metro Group Joins Mpls. Chamber Page 1 of 3 • - .---.- 4, ,,„. 1.,'A-A, ,...-;x -.- ^,:-.--, '- ' ..2.,-.,---,,,-.<0 c.,-5;-:- -.:- `(e,- InN/e�xt t onth`s • . , ::;,‘ReForropasomber Rotes- : ,g,!, ,i4i.of - - • y '; ` Watch tr;,f;fop l tr quick menu:(Select from Menu then Press Go! '_',.., November 19, 2002 ACCPsearch this site for: 11 advanced search A •A •A N,A NwA •A LA LA f home account/login about acce membership contact calendar message boards for business information ACCE information •ACCE news archives f 0/7/0 •survey central •resource library/samples East-metro Group Joins Mpls. Chamber •directories •chamber executive •ask a peer The Metro East Development Partnershipand the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of •MCC members p p 9 •Canadian members Commerce are joining forces to create a seven-county economic development group. professional MEDP is leaving its offices in downtown St. Paul Oct. 31 to move in with the development Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce in downtown Minneapolis. •ACCE conferences •jobwdtpn Dave Piggott, executive director of MEDP, said the or anization was at a crossroads •awaraward programs 9g g •leadership programs when it voted in favor of the move at a meeting Tuesday. •certification •special interest groups •message boards The independent agency's long-term viability was in peril due to a reduction in •seminars corporate funding, which makes up two-thirds of its budget. The agency has drawn II down its entire reserve account, reduced staff and limited expenses. Cash flow also is a concern. marketplace •online store The big catalyst for the decision, however, was that MEDP's sublease from the St. Paul •book reviews Area Chamber of Commerce expires Oct. 31, Piggott said. •business directory •affinity programs Many details about how the organizations will be restructured to cover the entire metro region still have to be worked out, including funding models and whether MEDP's staff benefits will become chamber employees, he said. •plan information For now, MEDP will keep its name, its focus on the east metro and Piggott as •forms executive director. •access accounts online •contact "The idea is for the two organizations to work together and create a regional economic development organization,"said Kathleen Gaylord, mayor of South St. Paul and the public-sector co-chair of MEDP. "I think it's a fantastic opportunity to use the MEDP model and use it to benefit the entire region." The MEDP's primary mission is to attract and retain businesses in the east metro area by providing free and confidential site-location assistance. It gets about 100 leads per year, Piggott said. During the past decade, it played a role in such deals as the expansion by Bayport-based Andersen Windows in Cottage Grove, new hotels in Eagan and Eden Prairie and a small plant for a manufacturer of Lasik-surgery machines in White Bear Lake, he said. 410 Mark Beattie, the private sector co-chair of MEDP who works in the real estate department at 3M, wrote in a letter to MEDP's board of directors this week that the Minneapolis Regional Chamber has a vision for economic development that aligns closely with MEDP. http://www.acce.org/info/news/articles/8101-metro.asp 11/19/2002