By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The expression “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” often is used when explaining a theory of psychology.
City leaders from Joplin, Mo., and Pittsburg believe that adage also is true when it comes to economic development, to the extent that they are implementing a five-year regional economic growth initiative called the Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative.
Pittsburg likely will be the most recent city to join the initiative. At tonight’s City Commission meeting, economic development director Mark Turnbull will ask for official approval and an eventual investment of $20,000, representing $1 per city resident.
“The old adage that economic development is done in house with a small group of people in one city is probably not as effective as it once was,” Turnbull said.
To that end, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, the Joplin Business and Industrial Development Corp., the Southwest Missouri Development Alliance, and the Joseph Newman Business and Technology Innovation Center have formed the regional initiative with the guidance of Dennis Fuhrhop, a consultant from National Community Development Services based in Atlanta, Ga.
The initiative is endorsed by the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board and the Joplin Industrial Development Authority. It would bring together not just Pittsburg and Joplin, but numerous communities on both sides of the border and in Oklahoma.
Cities joining the initiative will be asked at some point during the next five years to invest $1 per resident in exchange for the benefits they will receive — benefits that Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, called “deliverables” that are quantifiable.
Turnbull said numerous educational and business entities use the regional approach. For example, EaglePicher and Able Manufacturing and Assembly are based in Joplin, but they have operations in Pittsburg, while Pittsburg-based businesses such as Names and Numbers and Miller’s Professional Imaging serve numerous regions across the nation.
“Part of our own interest in pursuing this is we are very much a region anyway,” O’Brian said. “People live where they like to live, and work where they can find a job.”
According to Turnbull, 74 of those employed by Superior Industries before it closed nearly a year ago were residents of Carthage, Mo.
“From our side, we see economic development as regional: The strength of a region means increased capabilities because you’re part of a larger unit,” Turnbull said.
During the past two weeks, Turnbull, O’Brian and Fuhrhop have provided Pittsburg city commissioners with a detailed executive summary citing goals and strategies, to which the commissioners have reacted favorably.
“The question is: Will we lose our identity?” Turnbull said. “We will still operate as we always have. We will work independently with the Kansas Department of Commerce and won’t share leads if they come to us directly.”
O’Brian said that by becoming a member of the initiative, Pittsburg also would be included in a regional approach to marketing for new and expanding businesses.
“Really what we’ve seen over time is that businesses are on a pretty fast track,” he said. “They do information seeking on the Web to start with, then once they find an area, they want to have one point of contact, not contacts from 20 different area communities.”
And rather than look at one community, they look at the work force from which they could find employees, access to other related industries, and access to transportation routes and shipping, he said.
Fuhrhop, who works on similar initiatives across the U.S., said: “Businesses don’t look at boundaries. They look at opportunities.”
Local News
Pittsburg City Commission to consider joining regional initiative
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
