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| Downtown Art Project |
DDA MEMBERS ATTEND WMAP PROGRAM
Key note speaker, Hank Meijer (right), co-chairman
of Meijer answers questions at the West Michigan
Alliance Program.
of Meijer answers questions at the West Michigan
Alliance Program.
7th Annual West Michigan Alliance Program
The conference started with a keynote
presentation given by Hank Meijer,
Co-Chairman of Meijer, Inc., who spoke
of having to sacrifice a “little profit” in
order to keep sales strong. He also
discussed partnerships with MDOT to
provide car pooling locations on store
sites throughout the state.
A panel comprised of Karl Dehn, Battle
Creek Unlimited; John Plotnik, Southwest
Michigan First; Birgit Klohs, Right Place,
Inc.; Randy Thelen, Lakeshore Advantage
and moderated by Don Stypula of the
Grand Valley Metro Council gave its thoughts of why companies should choose West
Michigan.
West Michigan has:
• A diverse economy.
• A growing food science industry supported by educational and company
investment.
• Educational opportunities, such as the Kalamazoo Promise. Ottawa County is
3rd behind Ann Arbor in people having college degrees.
• 70,000 students within 7-county area.
• A positive business climate.
• Strong business fundamentals.
• A high percentage (60) of companies which are family-owned.
• A diverse community, 49 different languages spoken in 7-county area.
• A labor population that is high skilled and not unionized (only 4% union).
• A high concentration of engineers.
• 12% growth in young population (25-44 years).
• Lake-front residential opportunity.
• A 13-county commuting population
• Easy mobility.
• High productivity
• Strong manufacturing base (non-auto)
When asked what the federal and state governments can do to help attract
businesses to West Michigan, the panel unanimously agreed that the business tax
structure is a hindrance. Members also felt more funding for infrastructure was
needed. Also needed is a new immigration policy that separates the illegal immigrant
from the legal. The Michigan First legislation being proposed in which businesses
coming to Michigan to offer jobs first to Michigan residents will result in the state not
being considered for relocation. Ms. Klohs specifically stated that if the law was in
place in 2008, 80% of the businesses that came to Michigan would not have come.
Foreign workers buy homes, cars, products, etc., too.
Also, for the 2000 Census the Metropolitan Strategic Area (MSA) was restructured
resulting in what was the previously Muskegon-Grand Rapids-Holland MSA (including
Allegan County) to change into three different MSAs with less than a million in
population each. Allegan County was not included in any of the three but was
categorized as a Micro-MSA. Many businesses will not look at any area that doesn’t
come up as a population of one million in a regional area.
After the panel discussion, the round table discussions begun. Sheaffer attended the
Retail Incubator and DDA legislation round tables to get information regarding starting
a business incubator in downtown Fennville. LaShell attended the Lakeshore
Advantage round table hosted by Lakeshore Advantage President Randy Thelen
where the discussion was related to the habit of shoppers on the lakeshore.
The conference started with a keynote
presentation given by Hank Meijer,
Co-Chairman of Meijer, Inc., who spoke
of having to sacrifice a “little profit” in
order to keep sales strong. He also
discussed partnerships with MDOT to
provide car pooling locations on store
sites throughout the state.
A panel comprised of Karl Dehn, Battle
Creek Unlimited; John Plotnik, Southwest
Michigan First; Birgit Klohs, Right Place,
Inc.; Randy Thelen, Lakeshore Advantage
and moderated by Don Stypula of the
Grand Valley Metro Council gave its thoughts of why companies should choose West
Michigan.
West Michigan has:
• A diverse economy.
• A growing food science industry supported by educational and company
investment.
• Educational opportunities, such as the Kalamazoo Promise. Ottawa County is
3rd behind Ann Arbor in people having college degrees.
• 70,000 students within 7-county area.
• A positive business climate.
• Strong business fundamentals.
• A high percentage (60) of companies which are family-owned.
• A diverse community, 49 different languages spoken in 7-county area.
• A labor population that is high skilled and not unionized (only 4% union).
• A high concentration of engineers.
• 12% growth in young population (25-44 years).
• Lake-front residential opportunity.
• A 13-county commuting population
• Easy mobility.
• High productivity
• Strong manufacturing base (non-auto)
When asked what the federal and state governments can do to help attract
businesses to West Michigan, the panel unanimously agreed that the business tax
structure is a hindrance. Members also felt more funding for infrastructure was
needed. Also needed is a new immigration policy that separates the illegal immigrant
from the legal. The Michigan First legislation being proposed in which businesses
coming to Michigan to offer jobs first to Michigan residents will result in the state not
being considered for relocation. Ms. Klohs specifically stated that if the law was in
place in 2008, 80% of the businesses that came to Michigan would not have come.
Foreign workers buy homes, cars, products, etc., too.
Also, for the 2000 Census the Metropolitan Strategic Area (MSA) was restructured
resulting in what was the previously Muskegon-Grand Rapids-Holland MSA (including
Allegan County) to change into three different MSAs with less than a million in
population each. Allegan County was not included in any of the three but was
categorized as a Micro-MSA. Many businesses will not look at any area that doesn’t
come up as a population of one million in a regional area.
After the panel discussion, the round table discussions begun. Sheaffer attended the
Retail Incubator and DDA legislation round tables to get information regarding starting
a business incubator in downtown Fennville. LaShell attended the Lakeshore
Advantage round table hosted by Lakeshore Advantage President Randy Thelen
where the discussion was related to the habit of shoppers on the lakeshore.
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