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| Today's Headlines |
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| INTRODUCTION |
If you have been following the news, you are undoubtedly aware the Obama administration is developing an aggressive economic recovery plan to help invigorate the national economy. You also may have read that St. Louis County has submitted a number of significant economic development projects to the President’s stimulus plan to jumpstart our local economy.
I am pleased to report that our request was one fashioned in a cooperative spirit. The St. Louis County submission covered transportation, housing, economic development, public facilities, and “green” projects that are important to the region. We worked with our communities, development partners and other county offices to assemble a substantive package of projects.
Federal officials stressed that all project requests must be in a “ready-to-go” phase, and as usual, St. Louis County is ready. Rest assured, when a decision is made at the federal level, County Executive Charlie A. Dooley will act quickly to ensure that residents receive immediate benefit from the economic stimulus package.
We will continue to keep you informed about the progress of our submission and stand ready to move forward when our projects receive funding.
Denny Coleman
President and CEO |
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| LINDA MARTINEZ NAMED NEW DED DIRECTOR |
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Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has named Linda Martinez the state’s new Director of the Department of Economic Development. Martinez is a locally recognized tax credit expert and partner with St. Louis-based law firm Bryan Cave.
The announcement came in January at a news conference held in University City by Governor Nixon, who stated that Martinez was uniquely qualified for the position because of her vast knowledge and expertise with development tax credits, a cornerstone to the governor’s economic recovery plan.
In addition, Martinez has been involved with public-private partnership projects for public facilities including museums and sports and entertainment complexes, as well as industrial, manufacturing and multi-family housing units.
In accepting Governor Nixon’s nomination, Martinez vowed to move the department at the “speed of business” to fulfill the governor’s economic development agenda.
Economic Council President and CEO Denny Coleman applauded Governor Nixon’s selection.
Coleman stated “I have worked with Linda on a number of professional matters and have the greatest confidence that she will be an outstanding director. At a time of great economic challenge, we are fortunate to have someone of Linda’s caliber and expertise heading up Missouri’s economic development efforts,”
Martinez’s appointment requires confirmation by the Missouri State Senate. |
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| COLEMAN, NOWAK NAMED TO CHINA HUB COMMISSION |
Denny Coleman, president and CEO of St. Louis County Economic Council and Tim Nowak, executive director of the World Trade Center – Saint Louis were recently named to the newly created St. Louis-China Hub Commission.
 The commission consists of local public and private industry leaders who will work with Chinese officials to establish an air freight hub at Lambert International Airport to benefit both nations.
Mike Jones, senior policy advisor to St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley was named as the commission’s chairman. Vice chairs are Dan Meehan, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Dick Fleming of the RCGA.
Other commission members include Sallie Hemenway, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development; Dick Hrabko, director of the St. Louis-Lambert International Airport; and Chris Chung, chief executive officer of Missouri Partnership.
The creation of the commission was applauded by Missouri’s two U.S. Senators, Christopher “Kit” Bond and Claire McCaskill, along with Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese ambassador to the U.S. In addition, Ambassador Zhou conveyed a message of congratulation from Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan , saying that the establishment of the commission is another new step taken by the people of Missouri to strengthen economic cooperation and trade with China.
“Our job is to help Chinese companies gain access to the Midwest through Lambert and, in turn, help Midwest companies expand their market into China,” said Coleman.
The formation of the Commission is a result of a trip taken by both local and state leaders to China in 2007 to help open a dialogue for the hub. At that time, former Governor Matt Blunt signed an agreement with Chinese government representatives to study the establishment of a new transportation hub for China at Lambert International Airport. |
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| AMERENUE, ST. LOUIS COUNTY TEAM UP TO “POWER ON” WELLSTON |
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St. Louis-based AmerenUE, a leading electric and natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Missouri, has established the City of Wellston among the latest beneficiaries of the company’s recently announced “Project Power On” initiative. The utility improvement project complements and supports the Economic Council’s ongoing redevelopment effort in this inner ring North County suburb.
“Project Power On” is AmerenUE’s aggressive initiative to improve reliability, significantly upgrade delivery systems and enhance the environmental performance of its power plants. AmerenUE is investing $300 million to apply undergrounding solutions to those circuits in Missouri that are most susceptible to outages, particularly due to severe weather. The company is also spending more than $200 million on expanded tree-trimming and system inspection efforts.
The utility will be removing a total 2½ miles of overhead distribution lines along a half-mile stretch of Ogden Avenue in Wellston and placing them underground between Page Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive.
“The work is being done in conjunction with a major road widening project and will help support the energy needs and improve the service reliability of a local light industrial park that we are developing along with a number of commercial and residential customers,” stated Beth Noonan, Assistant Vice President for the Economic Council and project coordinator.
AmerenUE Senior Vice President Richard J. Mark said this is one of the largest “Power On” investments the company has made during the tenure of the program. “This $3.5 million investment will benefit nearly 5,500 customers in a two-mile radius of Wellston and the City of St. Louis,” Mark added.
At the end of 2008, AmerenUE had completed roughly 250 undergrounding projects, with more than 100 more under construction. Another 150 projects to improve reliability are in the design stage. These projects have led to an increase in jobs for “Power On” contractors. At the end of 2007, AmerenUE contractors had 34 full-time equivalent employees working on “Power On” projects. That number had grown to over 400 with increased activity through 2008. |
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| SBA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO 504 PROGRAM |
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 Derek Dickrader, business development officer with the Economic Council, has announced the Small Business Administration (SBA) has recently made some changes to their 504 loan program.
“The SBA has made adjustments to both the appraisal process and environmental reviews to address previous concerns and save time and money,” Dickrader said.
Now, all appraisals must be addressed to both the third party lender and Certified Development Company (CDC) or SBA. The appraisal cannot be re-addressed to another party after being issued.
As for environmental changes, the SBA has a new questionnaire and requires a reliance letter to accompany each environmental.
To learn more about the changes and how the SBA 504 program can benefit you, contact Derek Dickrader at St. Louis County Economic Council at (314) 615-7681. |
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| ST. LOUIS COUNTY HEADLINES |
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