08-16-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

East-metro Group Joins Mpls. Chamber Page 2 of 3 Client confidentiality and a reputation for treating all communities and investors equally would be maintained in a partnership, Beattie said. • For the Minneapolis Regional Chamber,the partnership gives it access to the eastern half of the metro area at a time when it is striving to represent more of the Twin Cities regional business community and become a player in economic development. * One goal is to represent the region as a single point of contact for companies interested in relocating or expanding in the area, said Louise Dickmeyer, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. There's also a need for an aggressive effort to promote the region as a place to do business, she said. Dickmeyer said the only formal relationship formed thus far with the MEDP is a short- term lease for the office space. The two groups are discussing the structure of an economic development entity that would launch in 2003, but they don't plan on creating another free-standing organization that would require separate or additional resources, Dickmeyer said."We studied some great models in other cities in the U.S. and will mirror some of these more effective models." Minneapolis has a strong brand name and the chamber gets a lot of leads for economic development through its Web site, Dickmeyer said. "We want to be able to leverage that." Larry Dowell, president of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, said his organization this summer decided to launch its own economic development program • focused on the east metro after trying unsuccessfully to reach a deal with MEDP. There's possibly a need for a regional program or effort, Dowell said, but there are different philosophies for how that should be done. The St. Paul Area Chamber's approach is to integrate its economic-and workforce- development programs, and it now has about four people from its 25-person staff doing that, he said. Economic development is about job creation and bringing in new investment and encouraging retention, Dowell said, but it also is about developing a pool of good workers for businesses when unemployment levels drop again. Dowell said he's not at all discouraged by MEDP's decision to leave St. Paul. "They are independent and should make those choices,we just choose a different direction," he said. Greg Miller, president of Eagan-based development company Interstate Partners and a former board member of MEDP, doubts a seven-county regional economic development agency could be effective without a large staff. * Miller,who said he stopped participating in MEDP because it wasn't generating new leads, said the relocation services provided by MEDP duplicate work provided by commercial real estate brokers. The difference is that brokers are more motivated and have better information, • especially on a regional level, Miller said. Brokers also give their opinions, which is something MEDP doesn't do, he said. sblack@bizjournals.com I (612) 288-2103 http://www.acce.org/info/news/articles/8101-metro.asp 11/19/2002