Mike Kelley, chair person of MRED (Moniteau County Regional Economic Development Council) announced at the meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Burgher Haus, that a $30,000 grant has been awarded by the national USDA organization. This announcement was welcomed since the rural development grant through the state was not received, as announced at the September meeting.
The original grant proposal was for a gigabit broadband development opportunity. With this goal, the marketing plan being developed, with the goal of going forward as much as possible with the effort to take advantage of the high speed internet availability. The high speed internet has become available due to the installation of fiber optics by Co-Mo Connect.
The inventory is underway for Moniteau County properties and buildings available, or "ready to become available" for new, relocating or expanding businesses. The inventory began within the last month, after the need was discussed at the August meeting. Kelley said that there are several entities searching for suitable business locations in Moniteau County. The attention is due, in part, to the central location with highway and railroad access as well as high-speed internet access.
The organization continues to make business retention visits, with the intent of retaining all businesses in the county. At the same time, the MRED hopes to build membership in the organization as it brings awareness of what it being done to improve and develop the economy in the county. It is planned to discuss possible changes in the dues structure to make it more feasible for some businesses to become MRED members. The MRED website is up and according to those who have checked it out, it looks good. Kelley said it was modeled after about a dozen of the best economic development websites available.
Contact Central Missouri Community Action Community Services Specialist Stefani Thompson at 573-796-3238 to learn more about the possibility of ACT National Career Readiness Certificate testing. The Workforce Development Committee is working to increase those in the transitioning category. The term "transitioning" refers to those workers who are looking for work after previous jobs ended, and have completed the three-hour tests to obtain the WorkReady certification. The certification is an indication of the ability to go on a job and be able to do the the work.
The MRED members were urged to spread the word about the organization, what it does and what it hopes to achieve.
The MRED November meeting time and place will be announced later.