August 30, 2013
09/03/13 On Wednesday, August 28th, the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) held the third in an ongoing series of discussions labeled “County Development for the Future” at the Swan Lake Resort & Conference Center. The purpose of this event, attended by 33 MCEDC stakeholders was to report progress on action items set out at the prior session and discuss future development opportunities, as well as hurdles throughout the County.
At prior events local leaders laid out some positive steps that were necessary to begin a proactive approach to new development. Representatives from each municipality in Marshall County, as well as the County itself, reported action taken towards completion of their goals. Some of the accomplishments since May were significant. The City of Plymouth contracted with USI Engineering to conduct design and engineering work for placement of conduit that will allow Metronet to bring their fiber optic network into Marshall County. Culver, LaPaz and Plymouth have all updated their comprehensive plans. In addition, the town of Argos continues to move towards having a 75 acre shovel-ready site for new advanced manufacturing development. Argos has partnered with MCEDC and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) to situate and market the site just off US 31.
Jay M. Bahr, Executive Director of the MCEDC, stated that, “The momentum and excitement in Marshall County is palpable. We have positive traction and all of our communities are striving to keep the ball moving ever closer to the goal line.”
Attending this session were Charlie Sparks, Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) Vice President of Business Development and David Behr, IEDC’s Director for the North Central Region. Both men spoke of the importance of state, county and local level economic development collaboration. Mr. Behr noted that “what you are doing in Marshall County is not being done in many other counties: including your smaller towns in the county wide conversations.”
At the conclusion of the event, the group decided to reconvene to continue the discussion and report back on continued progress.