2016/2017 Annual Unit Holders Meeting

2016/2017 Annual Unit Holders Meeting

Executive Summary

Financial update:

For the eighth fiscal year in a row the firm of CBEW has completed our annual audit, with no outstanding findings, issues or concerns.

At the end of the 2016/2017 fiscal year the amount of reserves at the SEDF total, $99,357.90.

2016 - 2017 SEDF Resolutions/Formal Letters:

2016/2017 01 – Corporate Authorization to Sign Checks

2016/2017 02 – Opposition to House Bill 2347

Unit Drive results to date are:

Amount Pledged from 2008-2019/2020: $444,840

Total Pledges/Contributions Received YTD 2017/2018: $4,060

Outstanding/Uncollected Pledges YTD 2017/2018: $20,650

Cumulative Pledges Received 2008-YTD: $273,201

Cumulative 1-Time Contributions received 2008-YTD: $108,540 - majority from Utility companies

Measurement & Cumulative Totals

STAFF REPORT TO THE UNIT HOLDERS for the 2016/2017 AUHM

The existing 2016/2017 Goals and Objectives, plus the current status and any measurement that corresponds to each specific area.

1. Business Retention & Expansion:

• Continuing to work with existing businesses and industries that are in an expansion mode, to determine what resources or support we can offer to assist them.
• In the 2016/2017 Fiscal year the SEDF has been engaged with:
• Wolverine Tube—acquisition by Shawnee Tubing Solutions--completed
• Georg Fischer—$40 + million expansion—ongoing
• GE Oil & Gas—Facility expansion—completed
• Enviro Systems—workforce & company acquisition--ongoing
• OBU—expansion & new curriculum--ongoing
• SGU—expansion & solvency--ongoing
• Walls—expansion--pending
• Eaton—workforce additions—ongoing
• United Dynamics—expansion & workforce—ongoing
• Indaco Metals—expansion--ongoing
• Tinker AFB—expansion & workforce--ongoing
• Keane Group—acquisition and expansion--completed
• Logic Aviation—expansion & workforce—New building completed
• Global Production Solutions—workforce additions—ongoing
• Staff continues to support the needs of the existing employers through posting of employment opportunities on all of the different social and electronic media venues we use. We have seen this continue to be an area that the employers are eager to use.
• The SEDF continues to oftentimes act as a liaison between a manufacturer, the City, the County, or other government entities, and act as a guide to help the business maneuver the various regulations or code issues they are facing.

1. New Business and Industry Attraction:

• 2016/2017 saw the construction of a new manufacturing facility in the community by Universal Forest Products Inc. Phase One of this project will employee between 25 and 30 individuals. This was a project started in March of 2014.
• Keystone Food Services—This food distribution company purchased a building and has completed the renovations to that facility. They will employ between 20 and 25 people in the first phase of the project and have told us they will ramp up to 35 +- as the company grows. Keystone Food services came to Shawnee originally to look at the Shell Building the SEDF has.
• During the construction of the Shell Building, and after, the SEDF has used that resource to respond to 27 different RFI’s, which has resulted in seven site visits by interested prospects.
• Staff continues to undertake an extensive email-marketing program which is focused on Aerospace and Aviation, Advanced Manufacturing, Manufacturing supportive services and supply chain needs, and Natural Gas equipment manufacturers and will continue that focus into 2017/2018 and beyond in those areas.
• Staff has also marketed the property to the top 50 US Industrial Site Consultants, national and regional property developers and business contacts located locally, regionally and nationwide.
• Staff participates in out of state call trips with the OKCRP in Dallas and has also been part of conference calls with out of state prospects where a physical out of state call trip did not warrant the expense.
• The SEDF has helped develop the recruitment strategies for the OKCRP for the upcoming 2017/2018 fiscal year.
• Staff continues to meet with the leadership at Tinker and some of the larger Prime Contractors to discuss and explore supportive services they might need locally and that we could recruit.

1. Workforce Development/Attraction/Recruitment:

• SEDF staff is an active participant with the Gordon Cooper Tech STEM Advisory Committee, the OBU STEM Leadership, the leadership of the Governor’s Economic Development and Workforce Council, the OBU College of Business Executive Committee, the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the Business Advisory Council for Dr. Marcie Mack and interaction with the students and instructors at the Jim Thorpe Academy.
• This past year the SEDF worked with the ODCTE Skills Center staff to develop customized training programs that would allow individuals who were incarcerated, and who had a Shawnee/Pottawatomie County connection, to develop skills related to the needs of industry in this area. Staff introduced the leaders of the Skills Center training programs to area HR staff to allow them to familiarize themselves with each other and the program.
• Staff has also been working closely with the ODOCTE leadership on their Military employment programs, which has included helping the ODOCTE develop new programs that can help raise the awareness of employment options available to military members in our area.
• Staff also forwards employment opportunities to the various Career Services staff at OBU, SGU, OU, OSU, UCO, OCU and the National Guard Employment Services Staff.
• Staff has maintained an ongoing relationship between the Director of the Tinker Civilian Personnel Office, which helps them identify potential skilled employees. With over 1500 individuals working at Tinker and living in our immediate area, (those 1500 represent $92 million in annual payroll for our area), we need to consistently stay aware of those employment opportunities.
• The SEDF continues to see an increase in requests to post available employment opportunities in the weekly Monday Memo and on the SEDF’s Website. Staff also posts employment opportunities on the SEDF’s Facebook Page and other FB pages specific to this community.

1. Improved Community Image

• In 2016/2017 the SEDF continued to market Shawnee as a location to buy a home, raise a family and find employment by purchasing a full sized ad in the premiere home and land publication in OKC.
• Help others in the community share the vision and goals of the SEDF by interaction with board members and staff at local events through social media sources and other publications. These include events listed in our Monday Memo, on the Website and posted on the SEDF’s Facebook Page.
• The SEDF responds, as applicable and without breaking confidentiality, to requests for information from the various newspaper media sources located in our area, which includes the News Star, Countywide, Tri-County Herald and the Journal Record.
• In the 2016/2017 fiscal year, the SEDF maintained contact with the producers of the Oklahoma Horizon TV program and has helped them schedule a time to return to Shawnee to publicize more about the expansion at OBU, specifically the new Nursing center on that campus.
• Coinciding with the marketing efforts on the Shell Building, the SEDF is expanding our community awareness outreach by launching our own YouTube link so that videos produced about the community can be viewed by a wider audience.

1. Retail Business Recruitment

• Staff continues to maintain and assist real estate agents, brokers, site selectors, developers and others who are interested in Shawnee to locate property suitable for their retail interests.
• In 2016/2017 the SEDF has undertaken an update to the Retail Merchandising and Implementation Plan, which helps serve as a road map on where our best retail targets are, along with providing the demographics/data that is relevant and specific to what retailers are seeking. This revised plan will serve the economic development organization and the City for at least the next four years.
• Staff has worked with the owners of the Elmer Smith Oil Company, the City and the County to help facilitate the construction of a new retail $33 million dollar development called the Domino Plaza, which when fully built out will offer a modern C-store, two hotels, two full service restaurants and two quick service restaurants.
• In 2016/2017, the SEDF was actively involved with several new retail projects, which included: The Garage, the Domino C-Store on Kickapoo and the Kickapoo Spur, Harbor Freight, Smiles Law Enforcement, Schlotszky’s, Daliyah’s Greek House, the Domino Plaza at 45th and Harrison, Harbor Freight, the purchase and revitalization of the Kickapoo Plaza retail area, and the unnamed Peck Retail Development on Kickapoo.
• There are other retail projects underway that we are not able to share at this time due to confidentiality between the prospect and our organization.
• In July of 2015 we started working with Richard Hefner of Bonray Resources and in March of 2017 he closed on property on the east side of N. Harrison, located directly behind the Sonic, N-Stock and Vision Bank locations. The company’s plans are to build a 4800 sq. ft. restaurant and 6000 sq. ft. of office/commercial space.
• In October of 2016 we began work with a firm out of Tulsa called Paine and Associates, who had an interest in buying the Kickapoo Plaza retail site and redevelop or enhance that property. The company was able to do that in the early part of 2017 and plans are now underway to attract more retailers and refurbish that area.

1. Help Foster Entrepreneurial Ventures and New Business Developments

• The SEDF staff continues to assist those who are seeking information on how to start their own business by identifying available resources and/or organizations that can assist them with their business ideas. (Business plans, financial assistance, marketing plans, etc.)
• Staff has been supporting the efforts of the new Business and Entrepreneurial Coordinator, Staci Wright, with the Gordon Cooper Technology Center, by introducing her to area businesses that would benefit from her expertise and services.

1. Assist with developing the airport and its services

• The SEDF has supported the Shawnee Regional Airport Fly-in for over 8 years by providing a small financial contribution and by helping to market the event on the various social media venues that we use.
• Staff developed a marketing brochure mock-up for the Airport staff, (at no cost), to use in the Osh Kosh event taking place this spring in Wisconsin. We aren’t sure if the Airport staff used this mock-up with the OBU students who helped finalize the development of the airport’s brochures.
• As possible, the SEDF uses the information about the existing airport property as part of our responses to RFI’s that are sent by the OKCRP or the ODOC.

1. Remain focused on reopening the rail line between Shawnee and McAlester

• Recently a legal review was completed on this line to determine if there was enough precedence to force the UP to take action in leasing or selling the rail line. The results of that report suggest that there are opportunities to pursue such actions if the proper funding were to become available,

• Staff continues to provide updates to our elected officials, (State and Federal), on the status of the rail line and to determine if there are new resources we can use to help reopen that line.

1. Publicize what the SEDF does to a broader market

• Continue to encourage the local and regional media sources to cover events and ongoing economic development efforts as often as they are willing in their various publications.
• As possible and practical, use the various social media venues available to us to highlight the progressive activities in our community to help build a positive perspective of this area. Those include, but are not limited to:
• The SEDF’s Facebook page
• The Monday Memo
• The SEDF Website
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Google Ads—active
• Facebook pages we manage or frequently post on.
• Shawnee Home Builders Association—manage
• Shawnee/Surrounding Area Job Postings—post
• Shawnee Area Online Job Postings—post

In 2016/2017, the SEDF Board members were asked what they felt success was in all of these areas and they provided six areas to measure our efforts against.

It was noted that some of those areas were outside the responsibility of the SEDF. Those areas that the SEDF could have an impact in are underlined.

1. More full service restaurants.

• Ongoing efforts tied to the Domino Plaza project and other locations around the community.

1. Additional downtown development.

• The SEDF supports the Historic Shawnee Alliance financially, by serving as an Ex-Officio Board Member and by helping prospects find available properties in the downtown area.

1. A better reputation for our public schools.
2. Having a shell building of our own to market.

• The Shell Building was completed in December of 2016 and we have been marketing that property extensively since March of 2016.

1. Build a new high school.

• Renovations and upgrades are underway.

1. Reduced crime and drugs in the region.

1