The Moniteau County Regional Economic Development Council considered changes to bring up at the annual meeting to be held in April. The discussion was held at the regular February meeting at Burgher Haus.
Among the changes under consideration are members of the Board of Directors. This has become problematic, because of the frequent lack of a quorum at the regular meetings. Also to be considered is the concept of three-year staggered terms for board members. It was also proposed to change some of the parliamentary issues in the bylaws to improve the efficiency of the board.
The plan is to write up the possible changes and submit them to the membership of the MRED at the annual board meeting April 11.
Several other items were discussed. One of those was the Registered Apprenticeship Program. Cargill and Burgers' Smokehouse are working to get this program going. Everything needed is thought to be in hand, including the letters of support.
Another was the need for a group of people - members and/or non-members of MRED who will commit to going out and doing business retention visits. Also discussed was the advantage of having new hires of the schools in the area to tour and understand what businesses are in the county and what employment opportunities those businesses might need.
The next regular MRED meeting will be held March 14 at Downtown Café, Tipton. The business portion of the meeting will begin at noon. The group will be discussing reorganization of the board and some new ventures which the organization is considering undertaking.
There will also be a complete update of Startup Moniteau and the success seen so far in just the first year of the program's existence. Of the five Moniteau County area entrepreneurs who went through the program, four of them already have businesses going. Some are still home-based, but that will likely change in the future. The most prominent entrepreneur assisted with the program is starting her business by the end of spring in California. The Grind will be a coffee shop on Oak Street (87 Highway) in the space just south of Casey's.