"One Dearborn" Economic Development Group Emerges To Seek First Gov't Support

By Mike Perleberg The Dearborn County Redevelopment Commission hears a pitch from representatives of One Dearborn, a new economic development organization on Thursday, March 23. Photo by Mike Perleberg. (Dearborn County, Ind.) - A new public-private organization is preparing to become a one-stop shop for economic development in Dearborn County. One Dearborn is the result of countless meetings of local, private sector business leaders. The effort can trace its roots back to 2013. United Community Bank President and CEO E.G. McLaughlin and Greendale-based Sycamore Gas President John Browner made the first public pitch to secure local government support for the new organization at Thursday’s meeting of the Dearborn County Redevelopment Commission. “We have to seize the day. We have some really great opportunities that are in front of us,” said Browner. “Everybody knows about the port and how that could impact the region. We want to make sure we are being as proactive as possible with that. There have been some major announcements about expansion at CVG with Amazon and DHL. By all accounts, when those types of expansions occur the ripple effect is pretty tremendous for the economies around those sites.” One Dearborn will allow the county to capitalize on not just those opportunities, but also an improving real estate market and the state’s push for regional economic development partnerships, Browner added. FROM 2016: Public, Private Leaders Seek Consultant To “Validate” Economic Development Efforts Dearborn County has been one of the few counties in Indiana – perhaps even the only one, McLaughlin said – that has no local economic development organization, or LEDO. In 2013, the former Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative dissolved. Since then, the role of a county economic development point person has been taken up by Dearborn County Administrator Terri Randall. Even on a shoestring budget and juggling her roles, Randall has had successes such as Whitewater Mill in West Harrison and Kaiser Pickles in Aurora. But she supports the idea of Dearborn County finally having a LEDO. “It’s been hard. I couldn’t be more happy that somebody else wants to put resources in this,” Randall said. “Essentially, by defacto, there was nobody else. The state has got to go to somebody (with business leads). Those are big, big things. It’s been a bit of a pressure to try and up the game. The time has come.” The fact is, McLaughlin said, that site selectors and developers nowadays expect a LEDO when looking for new business home. McLaughlin and Browner explained the “Dearborn County-specific” business model of One Dearborn. It would be built upon public and private sector investors with a shared vision and input from non-profit community partners. “The most successful communities always had the private sector and public sector working together in a big way. (And) Produced results – they were action-oriented and tenacious about deploying a short and long term strategy,” the presentation stated. One Dearborn’s four main functions, or pillars, would be business retention and expansion, business attraction and marketing, workforce development, and quality of place initiatives. The ultimate goals: quality of life, citizen prosperity, and business success and growth. McLaughlin said One Dearborn has already met with with and has secured $125,000 in annual funding commitments from a number of private businesses. The organization could be up and running by June with an executive director and maybe an assistant. “We’ll be prepared to start executing this organization on day one,” said McLaughlin. Ivy Tech Community College has offered office space at its Lawrenceburg Lakefront campus to house the operation, according to McLaughlin. Redevelopment commission member Jim Helms said other Ivy Tech campuses across the state had done the same for economic development groups. The county redevelopment commission did not take a vote on putting One Dearborn to work for them. Some more discussions will be held with the commission president and the organization to settle on terms, including a fee structure. RELATED STORIES: 2016 - Public, Private Leaders Seek Consultant To “Validate” Economic Development Efforts 2013 – Leaders: Dearborn Co. Needs Regional Plan For Future