Hidden Issues

Several questions were seen as rarely making headlines, but nevertheless critical to Northland development. Rahul Joshi noted Citi often sees a challenge with public transportation and affordable housing for employees. “How to get here and find affordable housing are challenges we see,” he said. “We see a lot of growth, but it’s on the upper end. We need a wider base.”

The Northland’s smaller communities face some common issues, while seeing others that are unique. Both Mayor Burch of Riverside and Parkville’s Mayor Dusenbury noted that balancing growth is important for those communities. Riverside is virtually rebuilding the city, while Parkville must work to maintain historic amenities and develop at the same time. Mayor Carol Rudi of Gladstone noted redevelopment is critical for that 30-year-old community.

St. Joseph’s Tom Lesnak noted his community looks increasingly southward. “We’re growing south; this area is growing north. How we work together as partners to make that growth positive is important.”

Presiding Commissioner Mark Hoover of Clinton County saw less connection to his southern neighbors. “Tax base is the issue for us,” he said. “We are a bedroom community. We want development but not next to me. That’s true everywhere, but especially in Clinton County.”

Several noted that dealing with problems proactively is a major need. Clay County’s Presiding Commissioner Carol McCaslin noted the county is examining conservation districts for unincorporated areas. “We are looking for development to bring in sewers, to help create less runoff and address quality-of-life issues,” she said. “We want to put growth in the right direction.”

Commissioner Knight cited Platte County’s efforts to improve parks, street development and storm water services. “We’ve looked at transportation and affordable housing. Those are the next challenges for the future of Platte County.”

 

Making KCI Fly

With several pending announcements, KCI and its impact on economic development were a consistent theme for the meeting. Mark VanLoh noted that the facility is increasingly seen as a potential powerhouse, but several factors stymie its growth. “Getting employees up here, especially employees like custodians or bus drivers, is a constant problem,” he said.

VanLoh also noted that only 3,000 of KCI’s 11,000 acres are developed. The selection of a master planner and a long-awaited study unveiled in May (see article on page 29), are important steps to develop this potential. Other suggestions include addressing development handicaps the airport authority faces when approached by real estate brokers.

“When a broker comes to see your cities, if your site is chosen then you end up paying that broker a fee,” he said. “It’s part of development. But we can’t do that here. It’s frustrating.”

Pete Fullerton said other factors have worked against maximizing airport potential, including a fear that the area would become unbalanced. “Frankly, the airport and KCI have not been a focus for this area. We’ve spent the lion’s share of the last 10 to 15 years trying to recruit businesses to dilute that impact. Now we’re seeing that we’re not going to hit our stride as a business location unless we focus that energy.”

But almost everyone agreed KCI is one of the area’s key development factors. As Clay County’s Jim Hampton noted, that area even sees the airport as critical. The largest concentration of employees (based at) the airport lives in Gladstone,” he said. “KCI does affect us. It affects all of us.”

The Incentive War

Several noted the Northland faces a negative aspect of economic development with incentive programs, an issue that involves the state of Missouri. “Most of what we go after now goes to the highest bidder,” VanLoh noted. “It’s unfortunate; we’ve been kicked out of the running because of our incentives, and a lot of that comes from Missouri. I hate to do that, but if you look at what some of the other states are doing, we lose out of the box.”

Mike Mills of the Missouri Department of Economic Development said change is likely to come from Jefferson City. “We are heavily engaged in the process to modify that now,” he said. “Some are archaic, but the door is wide open to modify that with the legislature and the administration.”

Krystl noted that incentives related to infrastructure pay remarkable dividends and have been a benefit in the Northland. “We did a study of infrastructure investments between 1990 and 2000,” he said. “For every $1 of investment, the assessment of sites went up $12. That tells if you found the right spot. KCI and Shoal Creek Valley (Northland TIF sites) were the right spots.”

Others noted some undeveloped opportunities could be exploited better. NKC’s Jeff Samborski noted efforts to better promote tourism could lead to the kind of successful destination Wyandotte County has with Village West.

Parkville’s Mayor Dusenbury agreed. “We need to create an atmosphere around this jewel of our airport…so they will want to stay a little longer.”

Others noted that redevelopment incentives are just as important as those for new development. “It’s important that we keep the businesses we have as well as attract new business,” Commissioner McCaslin said.

 

Workforce Strength

One area almost everyone saw as a Northland strength was its workforce.

“Our people have a great work ethic and that’s a strength we can sell,” Kristl noted. “The Ford Motor plant in Claycomo is the most efficient plant for Ford in the entire country. That isn’t an accident. And it isn’t just Ford; it’s at the airport and everywhere up here. It’s something that gives us an advantage that nobody else can sell.”

Jim Hampton noted a related strength involves the area’s education system. “Long-term, sustainable economic development is impossible without a good education system,” he said. “There’s a reason that three of the last four (Missouri) superintendents of the year came from the Northland. There’s a reason that William Jewell was named one of the best values by a leading magazine. There’s a reason we have that good system and there’s a reason we have a good workforce. It’s a huge issue. It’s a cornerstone for economic development.”

Betty Knight noted that all Northland school districts have been recognized for the quality of their education, a fact that should be better known south of the river. “I’ll put our Northland schools up against other schools at any time.”

In addition to helping develop well-educated residents, local education also provides direct service to business through several specific programs. “We’re very fortunate we have more than four-year colleges,” Melinda Mehaffy noted. “We have technical colleges. We have a variety of opportunities in that area.”

Mike Droge of Park University noted these levels of education are increasing. “We’re finding more businesses that want to partner on site…for professional development in-house that is credentialed by the university.”