ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BASIN: GREAT RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
This is just a wild guess but I perceive with a keen sense of such things that there are several in the local Quincy blogosphere who do not admire the work of GREDF. It has taken me years of training to pick up on such subtleties.
It seems constructive to take the discussion someplace beyond "You Suck!"
For my part, I don't even know what the heck GREDF does in any detail. It's not part of my day job and the only businesses I ever had a hand in bringing here went belly-up. So, your friendly basin has no expertise here. As a trained question-asker, however, maybe your host can assist in facilitating an actual, grown-up discussion.
1. What's the very best thing GREDF has done in the last, say, ten years;
2. What's the very worst thing GREDF has done in the last, say, ten years;
3. What, specifically, is GREDF not doing now that it should be doing;
4. What, specifically, is GREDF doing now that it should not be doing;
Bonus Question 1. Do you really believe that GREDF is simply not making an effort to entice employers with head of household jobs into the area? If so, upon what information do you base that belief?
Bonus Question 2. Do you really believe that Quincy was ever even a realistic candidate for the Pella Window facility?
Bonus Question 3. Do you object to a truly regional approach to economic development? (Special note to Tookie--This is different from believing the current emphasis on regionalism is a fig leaf--I know this gets you excited but try to stay with the format)
Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, penmanship, deportment, hygiene and a partridge in a pear tree. Winner gets an A for the semester without having to take the final exam. Offer Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. Filmed on a closed course by trained professionals. Do not try this at home. Special Allergy Warning: Some answers may contain peanuts.
posted by UMRBlog @ 19:51
21 comments
21 Comments:
Best thing in 10 years ......
I would say WIS-PAC . But before you let Jimmy blow his horn , look at the fact that WIS-PAC was prob a neg 40 jobs added . With Wis-Pac the Local Pepsi plant cut there bottling opperations and jobs......
This Group Partnering is a total waste ! YP ???? They turned down helping Rockycola's YMCA "Strong Kids" ..........b/c they are both non-profits .
WTF is that ????
U of Il extension ????
Besides 4-H , the rest they do around here is WAY off the trail of the Mission Statement.
The Tri-State summit ???
Tony GREDF's best years were with Chuck . Chuck used them as a savy political tool . Chuck would get GREDF to chime in , and it either covered his thoughts or gave a 2nd round of approval to his plan,
Now GREDF is a $500,000 waste of budget .
I am DEAD positive , we will be reading about GREDF soon. I just have a feeling .........
Many of the Local NGO's pedal influence and power with TAX dollars . We have allowed a Fiefdom to be built and it's time to take a hard look at that.
Stay tuned and buckle up
We will have a fun ride soon enough .
Lemme get this straight. You are against having a GREDF type unit in place at all?
TYFCB
I think we need a org like GREDF , yet I think over sight has been lacking. I think critical reviews of their "gains" or "losses" needs to be done.
At the moment GREDF is a "do no wrong" sorta agency .
I can see wrong . The Spec building . The maine street tap . The letting folks "short sell" properties & write off the loan .
I can go on and on.
This is not much different than other quests I have taken. The first part of fixing a problem is to admit you got one .
OK,
That's progress. You concede we should have an economic development organ. I think I agree.
You think it should have oversight. GREDF has an oversight board. Are you just saying it should have different people on it?
You have identified some arguably bad outcomes. You haven't done a thing to explain what changes in process would have eliminated bad outcomes. Isn't there some risk inherent in economic development loans/grants/support bennies.
It seems to me you're just moaning about spilled milk and not addressing what would avoid some of the spills. You have always had my complete attention on this but you never propose specific fixes. Busting JM's chops is not the least bit enlightening.
C'mon. Stop with the history lesson and tell me what you want to have happen.
TYFCB
What is the unemployment number for Quincy? For Adams County?
in comparison to the nation?
"Busting JM's chops is not the least bit enlightening."
I not pointing a finger BUT as with any public figure . . .
He's drawing the paycheck, responsible for the day to day operations and budget. Why should it be neccessary for Tookie to give him a gameplan? Has he not been in this position long enough to have one? Is he not a public figure leaving him open to public debate?
Honestly Tony, You've lived in this community as long as anyone. You've been a Democrat the same length of time. Don't you ever sit back and wonder where all the head of household jobs are that we have spent all this money on?
;)
p.s. Enjoy your Dogwood weekend!
p.s.s. This is the second argument in a row that you have forced me to side with Tookie! Please refrain from doing so again as I don't think my conscience can take much more of this!
"C'mon. Stop with the history lesson and tell me what you want to have happen."
The "history lesson" sums up a GREDF talk . I can do the GREDF speach by heart.
The oversight board needs new blood and teeth. We tend to fill NGO boards around here with "yes" people. Take the Old OLC board .
We need to really look at what bang for the buck we are getting .
We need to focus LESS on smoke stack chasing and really hammer in helping our local firms .
QMF is a success story . They repaid the loan . They live here and shop here .
This is the type of firm we need to promote.
Take another example of local talent . In Houston , Tx there are 15 guys with roots to Quincy doing Energy trading or Law. Why not set an angle fund up and recruit them to start a trading center here in Quincy ?
High pay jobs , cheap cost of living , pan handle eastern ........
Not busting Jim's chops , but frankly I have had my fill of Jim . Sometimes new blood is needed and Boards need trimmed .
We need to focus on growing our local base , and not bringing another big box in .
We should whore ourselves to Goldstein and get a large Barge terminal . The problem is he doesn't trust our community at the moment .
So I tossed a few ideas to chum the water for you to ponder on !
Adams 4.3% Brown 3.5%
As Tookie has noted, however, this a bit misleading because it doesn't reflect "head of household" jobs versus "fries with that" jobs.
One indicator of things not wonderful is the highest ever level of subsidized meals in the QPS. If I get time later, I'll look for median income figures. We'll have to let some air out of them for Methode runaway.
TYFCB
I have the pverty data here ! I will email them to you later tonight !
It is not pretty .
Also what business is it for GREDF to put on a Mid Summer Art Fair ???
Seriously isn't that a QSFA job ?
Don't get me fricken started on this ........
Enough is enough !
So Jimmy's a public figure...what does that have to with whether just taking shots at him is constructive.
You just put in some good ideas. Have you submitted them to the GREDF Board?
How should the selection process be changed to get the energetic, outside-the-box (not Jack-in-The-box) thinkers into GREDF leadership positions?
It's easy for me to say when the Royals should have changed pitchers in any given game. But it's harder to propose structural changes to give them better relief pitchers over time.
C'mon, you really think stopping bringing in "Big Boxes" is like some kind of breakthrough solution?
I'm not saying you don't have good individual ideas. You do. Lots of people in our community have good individual ideas--and they're not all bankers. How do we get those good thinkers inside the tent (if they must) pi$$ing out instead outside the tent (like you) pi$$ing in.
So JimBob's gonna run some kind of expose. I'm not putting that down but everybody in town already knows that new mid-tech and information-based employers are not exactly streaming into town. So what does that really add to the body of knowledge.
I see what you see. No argument there. But it seems to me you're just cursing the darkness without lighting a candle. Your argument is unfocused. It's just a laundry list of grievances, some specific, some general. I'm glad you're making them but try going at them like you took the bleach to the mold--on task.
BTW, thanks for cleaning up the 'hood.
TYFCB
If you think the wrong people and the wrong ideas are there, how do we create a system with the "right" people and the "right" ideas
U/G,
Tookie exposure is effecting your brain. Simply because someone is a public figure and open to public commentary does not help at all in determining whether the critic is proposing useful change. Apples and Oranges, my man, apples and oranges. You were brought up better than that.
It is not Tookie's job to give GREDF a game plan. But if he's gonna rag them, he might as well say something helpful. Quincy actually has a proud history of individual citizens bringing industry into town (Yes, I know. It also has some of the opposite.)
Thank you for the good wishes but my CanineLumber weekend is ruined. I had a VIP pass to the new dumper and now it's not gonna be done. I'm just crushed. Dumper delayed is Dumper denied!
You too.
TYFCB
You know you can't resist.
Besides, with the mold gone and the dumper not done, there's nothing else to do.
TYFCB
Price of CORN for a Soy Bean plant ........
<3 Tookie
P.S. : Change never happens over night . But I think there are some of us here that are willing to try change .
There is also a need for BALLS , I highly doubt Jimmy and I will exchange xmas cards . But I frankly do not care .
Some days ( well f*** it all days ) I call a spade a spade .
OK (Cue, patient, uncle voice),
Then what is your plan for creating an iteration of GREDF that welcomes and encourages "Balls"?
It is not your sincerity that is in issue here. It's your specificity.
And, yes, the biodiesel air ball was freaking funny!
TYFCB
Actually Tookie exposure has very little to do with how I do feel about the job performance of GREDF now or since 1992 when I returned to our fine town.
I just don't see, nor have seen, how they are benefiting our community since they can no longer grab onto the coattails of one of our great natural promoters.
Do you think the economic conditions for the citizens of Quincy (which is fairly recession proof due to old money - none of which I have) are better off this year after spending a 1/2 mil than they would have been if we had simply tossed that money out in the street and watched a good melee take place?
If so please explain?
;)
"Adams 4.3% Brown 3.5%"
It also does not reflect the change in how those numbers are calculated. Those numbers no longer figure in the number of people that have used up thier unemployment benefits. How they calculate those numbers was changed a few years ago.
;)
You are right. There have been two formula changes since 1997.
All these numbers tell you is the trend, month to month. They really don't say much about the number of able people who can't find real work.
And.. to make it worse...no one has a formula for converting because it differs so much urban to rural, white to black, old to young.
TYFCB
Two different people with far more expertise in this area than I have pointed out that there are almost always serious proprietary information, customer list, and conflict of interest issues when Board Members are dealing with assisting prospective local projects.
At some cognitive level, I got that but I didn't fully appreciate the intensity and frequency of it as regards local startups.
Good point. Maybe you have to have backup panels to review certain types of apps.
I'm late to this discussion but THANK YOU for facilitating a constructive exchange instead of indulging in personal vendettas. I know that some regard regional thinking as something laughable but even the most cursory review of literature about successful approaches to economic development point to components such as partnerships, regional approaches to marketing and collaboration, quality of life, and yes, attracting young professionals. Economic development isn't just trade shows and advertising in magazines anymore. Is there a community in the tri-state area that's doing better? And if so, what are they doing differently?
Yes
Hannibal , Mo
Also , GREDF is $10,000 per job created or per vacant building bought . What we need is more "Unseen" businessmen to ANGEL FUND good ideas and help start ups to profit.
SEE POOL HALL & DANCE FLOOR under one roof ( It's for sale 12 months in)
For other examples check QNO
:)
I am not on a vendetta , I just happen to be a dinosaur , Under 40 & in Quincy , Il
Maybe you should not buy the "Spin control " Jumping Jimmy USELESS sells with his kool aid !
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