Notes from Jim Doutt, Executive Director

I was honored to be a guest speaker at the launch of  Advance Northeast Ohio on March 30, 2007 at the John S. Knight Center in downtown Akron.   Advance Northeast Ohio is the region's shared economic action plan that was developed from the work of Voices & Choices and the Fund for Our Economic Future.  Voices & Choices engaged more than 20,000 citizens and gathered input from leading economists and consultation with hundreds of community leaders.  This action plan calls to raise incomes, create jobs and grow the economy; unite actions of business government, education, labor and civic leaders. Advance Northeast Ohio will evolve to respond to new opportunities and changing needs.  A media briefing following the launch featured Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and other elected officials.  For more visit www.advancenortheastohio.org/multimedia

While state and regional collaborative efforts offer great promise,we should never lose sight of the fact that the strength of the state or region stems directly from the strength of the local communities.  A business attracted to the state or region, ultimately must choose a specific community that it will invest in with the "closer" often being the local city or county economic development entity.  It is vital that our Medina County cities and chambers of commerce remain effective and efficient.  Medina County benefits greatly from the work performed by its local community economic developers who work daily to attract, retain, expand, strengthen and keep our community businesses.  

I would like to officially welcome Tom Kruger.  Tom accepted the challenge of becoming the Economic Development Director for the City of Medina on January 22, 2007 and MCEDC looks forward to working together as we seek ways to enhance the quality of life for the residents of not only Medina City but all Medina County residents.

The Medina County Business Awards are designed to acknowledge and honor those community businesses.

The Medina County Port Authority has signed a marketing agreement with CB Richard Ellis and is actively marketing the Innovation Park that is located adjacent to the Medina County University Center.  With 54 acres, Innovation Park will become home to businesses that range from research and development to corproate headquaters.

Several companies have inquired about the possibility of activating in one of the four foreign trade zones in Medina County.  FTZs are another tool that MCEDC has put in place to make our county more competitve. 


MCEDC News:

Save the Date -November 15, 2007
The 2007 Medina County Business Awards, sponsored by Westfield Bank and presented in conjunction with the Ninth Annual MCEDC Speaker's Series program will be held at the Blair Center, Westfield Center on Thursday, November 15 from 4-7 p.m.  Click here to download a nomination form to nominate the company of your choice.

Leading EDGE Awards - Congratulations
Four Medina County Companies, Clinical Research Management (CRM), Fire Dex, Healthcare Innovative Solutions, and 3D Metals were recepients of the May 16, 2006 Leading EDGE Awards.  The Leading EDGE (Economic Development through Growth and Entrenpreneurship) supports Regional Economic Development in Northeast Ohio by focusing on middle market companies interested in growth and value creation.  Qualifying middle-market companies  have sales revenue up to $500 million and currently sell some of their goods or services outside the region, or have plans to do so.  More>>>

Cabela's Retail Inc.
Congratulations to Brunswick for being named the possible site location for a Northeast Ohio Cabela's Retail, Inc. which is an upscale world-renowned outdoor gear retailer that draws millions of visitors to its stores throughout the United States each year.  On Thursday, May 31, 2007 the Medina County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an impact facility sales tax refund  for the Nebraska-based company  provided the company decides to build a store in Brunswick.  Cabela's would draw 3 million or more visitors a year to Medina County and earn $50 million in annual revenue.  The generated tax revenue would greatly benefit all of Medina County.  Read Gazette article here>>>

Pride One, Inc - Sharon Group, LLC
Pride One, Inc.- Sharon Group LLC has submitted an received approval on a Sharon Township Community Reinvestment Agreement (CRA) application. Sharon Township Trustees recommended the approval to the Board of Medina County Commissioners on the basis that Pride One is qualified by financial responsibility and business experience to create and preserve employment opportunities and improve their economic climate.   The CRA is for an 11,154 square foot multi-tenant building located on 4.45 acres in Sharon Township and represents a $1,225,000 investment in the community. 

Kosmic Korner Daycare
Kosmic Korner Daycare has submitted and received approval on a Village of Seville Community Reinvestment Agreement (CRA) application.  The CRA is for a 7,600 square-foot building to be occupied and utilized a a daycare facility on a 3 acre site on Panther Parkway located in Beacon South Industrial Parkway; a $1, 015,000 investment in the community. 

The Medina County Fiber Network
Three bids were submitted to the MCPA regarding the Request For Proposal (RFP) to design/build the Medina County Fiber Network (MCFN): City of Wadsworth, First Energy Telecom (FET)& Time Warner/Armstrong Cable (TWA)

TWA and FET gave oral presentations to the MCFN evaluation team on February 7th.  The evaluation report, including recommendations,  was compiled by NGT Parnters a consulting firm that was engaged to guide the RFP process was presented to the MCPA Board on March 7, 2007.  

MCPA is not acting on the recommendation to do an engineering assessment that First Energy Telecom proposed and has decided to release an alternate Request For Proposal.

Medina County University Center

	The MCUC construction site sign in Innovation Park, 6300 Technology Lane, Lafayette Township, Medina, OH 44256 Construction by The Ruhlin Company
	The MCUC Steering Committee takes an on site look at the construction progress
	MCUC Steering Committee travels to the construction site on a Medina County Transit bus

Team NEO Economic Development Impact Award
MCEDC, The University of Akron and the Medina County University Task Force/Steering Committee were honored at the Team NEO Economic Development Impact Award program in the Public/Private category for the Medina County University Center at the Doubletree Hotel in Independence on Thursday, June 7, 2007. MCUC is the result of vision and hard work that is nearing fruition showcasing the collaboration between Medina County, the University of Akron as well as the private sector. 


Over thirty Medina County supporters attended as Jim Doutt, MCEDC and Dr. Beth Stroble, University of Akron, accepted the award.  This award is evidence that Medina County is a growing, thriving area and a great place to locate your business. MCUC is scheduled to open in January 2008. Read the nomination >>> 

Legislative Update
Medina County Chambers of Commerce, Medina County Home Builders Association, Medina County Board of Realtors, Medina County Economic Development Corporation and GrOW - Grassroots of Westfield attended a very informative Legislative Business update on Monday, June 11, 2007.  State Senator Ron Amstutz, 22nd District, State Representatives William Batchelder, 69th District, and Bob Gibbs, 97th District, discussed the latest on what is happening legislatively in Columbus, including Ohio's new two year budget.

Regional News:

Northeast Ohio Economic Review Report
Approximately 125 business and community leaders attended the Team NEO "State of the Region" event on Tuesday, March 27 to get an update on the Team NEO initiatives that are underway to generate additional business invetment into Northeast Ohio.  Team NEO unveiled a new report "Northeast Ohio Economic Review" that will be published on a quarterly basis.  This report is unique as it provides regional economic information, not readily available from other sources that typically provide information on a federal or state level.  View the report here.>>>

Regional Brand and Marketing Campaign Launched April 26

The Medina County Economic Development Corporation has partnered with the Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance over the past year on the development of a regional initiative to create a brand for Northeast Ohio.  The objective of Cleveland+  is to drive strategic, long-term marketing of the region.  The goals are to attract business investment; attract visitors/conventions; attract/retain talent; improve Northeast Ohio's self-image; and unite the region.  In this competitive, global economy it it extremely important that we present a united, regional front that emphasizes the strengths and assets of Northeast Ohio.  We hope that Medina County businesses and residents will embrace and support this new marketing effort.  Click here to learn more about clevelandplus.com>>>