Bohall talked about the history of Rose Acres, which is the largest family-owned egg producer in the nation, and spoke about production capacity, company growth, and the Francesville facility. The local site was constructed in 1985 and sits on 632 acres. Wastewater from the site is recycled and used to irrigate the surrounding tilled ground.

In response to a question from PCED executive director Nathan Origer, Bohall noted that the Francesville farm employs approximately 135 workers. As Bohall’s presentation neared its conclusion, Broad asked what PCED can do to help Rose Acres. His response was to "talk positively about the egg business, and encourage people to call to tour the plant."

Other business of the Economic Development Commission continued as follows:

Executive Director’s Report

Strategic Relationships: Director Origer reported that he had conducted a follow-up site visit with Kevin Bostic of Ivy Tech-Logansport at Vurpillat’s Opera House, with Steve Morrison of the Pulaski County Historical Society, and Dan and Virginia Dolezal, consultants to the Historical Society. Bostic continues to express Ivy Tech’s interest in this site, but various issues need to be addressed, particularly involving the costs of appropriate renovations and a leasing agreement.

Origer expressed his pleasure with the turnout for the Oct. 20 “Branding Your Business” Economic Summit, held at the Winamac Knights of Columbus Hall and featuring guest speaker Jim Walton, of Brand Acceleration. About 35 people attended, heard an insightful presentation from Walton, and enjoyed lunch catered by Mary Ortman.

Origer is serving on the Winamac Safe Routes to School taskforce. He informed the board that the Friends of the Panhandle Pathway had finally acquired the land necessary to extend the trail into town, which is necessary for the complete implementation of Safe Routes. The Safe Routes program is intended to encourage safe non-motorized transport to schools; some of the work may coincide with the proposed Complete Streets program for downtown.

In Francesville, Origer met with Roger Cummings, Brad Neihouser, and Ron Schlatter, of Pulaski West Developers (PWD), and Terry Stevens, of Alliance Bank, regarding potential west-side development and general relations between PCED and PWD.

At the October Chamber of Commerce board meeting, discussions continued regarding the vision and
focus of the Chamber. Plymouth Tube was named Organization of the Quarter, and plans were considered for a shop-locally holiday-shopping campaign.

Infrastructure: Origer successfully arranged for the County Highway Department to widen CR 600 South, for a mile-long stretch from US 421 westward to improve safety, particularly for truck drivers at Remington Seeds. He is also working with Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker to address the intersection at US 35, CR 50 East, and CR 150 South, a notably troublesome junction, in preparation for the addition of pedestrian and bicycle traffic when the Panhandle Pathway is extended.

Business Retention/Expansion and Entrepreneurial Development: The County Council awarded tax abatements to Remington Seeds and Plymouth Tube on projects totaling more than $60MM. Origer met with Amy Beechy, of ProjectMatters, to discuss potential entrepreneurial-development collaboration, and participated in a teleconference for the Microenterprise Affinity Group meeting. He also attended the first day of the Indiana Main Street Conference, and met with a Francesville-area businessman interested in a potential expansion.

Other Business: Origer toured the County Courthouse with Morry DeMarco to see what structural issues affect the building; he will be looking for opportunities for grants and low-interest loans to address these issues. He also participated, on board member Carolyn Hildebrandt’s request, in the West Central Middle School Reality Store.

Workforce Development: With the second welding-class session having ended, the coordinators have scheduled a mid-November meeting to review the semester and to plan for the future. Reviewing unemployment rates for Pulaski County and neighbors for September 2010, and August and September 2011, Origer noted that although Pulaski County’s rate had dropped from 7.3 percent to 7.0 percent, some counties actually experienced more impressive decreases in rates, some have better rates than ours, and Pulaski County’s real unemployment rate is likely closer to 9.5 percent.

Financial Report: Through the end of August, PCED had expended 67.6 percent, of its budget. The CDC Donation Fund had a balance of just below $3,000.

Priority List and Monthly Calendar: The director’s schedule for the next month was reviewed; Origer especially highlighted the Indiana Economic Forum conference (Nov. 8); the adult-/alternative-student college fair proposed for early December and co-sponsored by PCED, Ivy Tech-Logansport, and the Pulaski County Public Library; the Indiana Rural Summit (Dec. 1-2); and the Indiana Economic Development Association’s annual conference (Dec. 8-9).

Old Business

Strategic Plan — Economic Summits: Origer further discussed the “Branding Your Business” Summit, noting that although the attendance rate was similar to that at the September Summit, more local businesspeople were present, and fewer regional and State-level partners, the opposite of what happened in September. He reiterated his interest in annually hosting Summits, ideally with each event’s theme related to Pulaski County.

Mapping a Path Forward. For 2012, Origer suggested an entrepreneurship-themed session, with participation from various agencies that provide small-business lending, counseling, and support. Broad instructed the director to begin considering potential dates for such an event.

Strategic Plan — PC-CARE:  Origer again noted that he had met with the Pulaski West Developers, who expressed interest in and willingness to work toward development of the PC-CARE.

Land-Use Update: The County Commissioners approved the various land-use documents and ordinances as presented; effective implementation is the next challenge.

Complete Streets: Origer provided copies of the most important pages of the proposal provided by the Active Transportation Alliance. Scale and costs were discussed, with discussion limited until the director has the opportunity to investigate other avenues for completing and funding the work.

Pulaski County signage/billboard Project: Origer and board member Courtney Poor toured US 31 between Rochester and Indianapolis, and I-65 between Indianapolis and Rensselaer, investigating whether any communities employ billboards to attract visitors; very few were found that meet even a loose definition; the director and Poor suggested that, if any role be played by PCED, it ought to be the facilitation of a shared billboard advertising some of the county’s niche businesses that may attract retail tourists.

College Fair: Origer noted that the PCED–/Ivy-Tech–/PCPL–sponsored college fair would be directed toward adult/alternative students, most likely on Dec. 15.

Business Survey: Not having distributed any of the prepared surveys at the Economic Summits, Origer inquired of the board how best to distribute them. It was suggested that he make them available online, as well as allowing for a hard-copy option. Local-paper advertising should be used to alert businesses to the survey, as well as electronic communications.

New Business

Indiana Economic Forum:  Origer drew the board’s attention to the agenda for the one-day Indiana Economic Forum conference that he would attend on Nov. 9. The eminence of some of the speakers was noted.

Membership: Discussion was held on filling vacancies on the PCED board, effective for the new term which begins March 1.

Advertising Request: Brandi Larkin, of the Chamber of Commerce’s retail committee, asked Origer for support in advertising for Winter Wonderland; Poor suggested providing $200 in support.

(Early) 2012 Goals/Objectives: Origer provided a draft list of issues on which to focus PCED’s attention in 2012 — workforce-development programming; the Pulaski County tourism brochure; entrepreneurial-development programming/workshop(s); PC-CARE; continued community-development projects (e.g., downtown-revitalization projects); and youth-retention programming, the student board, and developing an internship program.

Broad suggested the list should also include endeavors to attract or help the establishment of “symbiotic businesses” that complement our existing manufacturing and agriculture. Member Rod Button added that marketing efforts for the Winamac Industrial Park should be revisited.

Welder-training–course issues: Origer explained that although the welder-training courses had gone well, the logistics surrounding them were often troublesome, and the stakeholders involved in the program are in need of some strategic planning. A meeting is planned for mid-November. Board member Christy Perdue offered to provide some contact information to the director for both someone at Plymouth Tube who may be able to offer his insight or support to the program, and for potential suppliers of cheap or free steel.