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 In attendance were Dan Evans, Mayor of Emden; Fred Finchum, Mayor
of Atlanta; Lyle Fout, Mayor of Elkhart; Jim Fuhrer, Mayor of Mount
Pulaski; Doris Last representing the Mayor of Hartsburg; Gene
Rohlfs, representative of the Logan County Board and Bill Thomas,
Executive Director of the LCEDP. The meeting began with attention to
several organizational matters, including election of officers. Fred
Finchum was elected Chairman and Dan Evans was elected Vice
Chairman.
 Per its by-laws the purpose of the LCEDP is to develop the local and
regional economy through programs that sustain and grow existing
businesses, attract and establish new business, and increase quality
employment opportunities. As its first order of business, the Board
discussed and voted to establish the following set of primary
strategic areas which the LCEDP will focus in 2015:
- Business Retention/Expansion and Retaining/Sustaining
existing businesses and helping them expand.
- New Business Creation: Attracting and establishing new
businesses.
- Workforce Development: Improving the quality of Logan
County’s workforce in order to meet the needs of area employers.
- Community Capacity Development: Increasing the ability of
individual communities to strengthen and expand their own
economic bases.
The Board also discussed efforts by Mount Pulaski to restore
its historic courthouse. This initiative is well under way and
stands to result in a new and important tourist attraction that
has the potential to positively impact both the local economy of
Mount Pulaski and Logan County as a whole. In order to help with
this project, the LCEDP will coordinate the task of securing
letters from each community in the County stating its support of
the Mount Pulaski Courthouse restoration project. The LCEDP
office will also continue work it began last year to assist the
Courthouse Foundation Board with strategic planning,
fundraising, and identifying ways to leverage the restored
courthouse for economic development purposes.
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In other matters, the Board voted to provide a donation to
the annual Chamber of Commerce Ag Scholarship program, reviewed
a list of services provided by the LCEDP office, and discussed
possible methods for establishing membership dues for
communities participating in the Partnership. The matter of
membership dues was not finalized and will be addressed at the
next meeting of the Board. The new Board of the Logan County
Economic Development Partnership concluded its inaugural meeting
noting that it is eager to help improve the overall economic base of
the entire county in the coming year. As part of that effort, it
will work with each community in the county, as well as continue to
represent Logan County in the Economic Development District (EDD)
along with representatives from Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, and
Mason Counties. It will also continue its work with the
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) committee of
which it is a member.
The next meeting of the LCEDP Board will be on February 23, 2015.
List of services provided by the LCEDP
(Pdf)
[Bill Thomas, Executive Director,
Logan County Economic Development Partnership]
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