The Amador County Regional Planning Committee heard from regional financial czars last week, on November 6th. Larry Busby of the Central Sierra Economic Development District told the committee to dig up its 10-year-old economic strategies and plans for implementation, because they are still legitimate, still relevant. Busby and Ron Mittlebrunn, of the Amador Economic Development Corporation, both said economic development is not going to happen without housing for the people, and jobs will come from attracting industries. Both also said those old strategic plans are cookbooks for financial success. Busby said “try not to put all of your eggs in one basket, (because) if it fails, then you don’t have anything.” Mittlebrunn said he has worked to try to attract industries, which he has taken properly zoned areas that are sometimes nothing more than dirt and weeds. He said “they don’t like that – they literally run away.” But Martell commercial sites, with prebuilt roads, curbs, gutters, and building sites plotted out and ready to go, are attractive to businesses. Mittlebrunn said that Amador County has the attractive quality of life and two business parks, and he wondered if the county had 40,000 or 50,000 dollars to advertise those qualities. He said tourism is a very big part of economic development, when the “knowledge workers,” the high-pay workers and their families come and see the county. Those are the types of workers and jobs he said he tries to attract to Amador, but have proven “elusive.” Statistics show 16 percent of the Amador workforce commutes out of the county to work, and he believes most are going to those “knowledge worker” jobs. But Amador has grown. He said the Amador County Gross Domestic Product total 793 Million Dollars in 1997 and it grew by 48 percent in 8 years, to 1.5 Billion Dollars in 2005. Mittlebrun said there has been 41 Million Dollars worth of business expansions throughout the county, adding to the property value, while there have been 385 jobs created in the county since September of 1990. Story By Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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The Amador County Regional Planning Committee heard from regional financial czars last week, on November 6th. Larry Busby of the Central Sierra Economic Development District told the committee to dig up its 10-year-old economic strategies and plans for implementation, because they are still legitimate, still relevant. Busby and Ron Mittlebrunn, of the Amador Economic Development Corporation, both said economic development is not going to happen without housing for the people, and jobs will come from attracting industries. Both also said those old strategic plans are cookbooks for financial success. Busby said “try not to put all of your eggs in one basket, (because) if it fails, then you don’t have anything.” Mittlebrunn said he has worked to try to attract industries, which he has taken properly zoned areas that are sometimes nothing more than dirt and weeds. He said “they don’t like that – they literally run away.” But Martell commercial sites, with prebuilt roads, curbs, gutters, and building sites plotted out and ready to go, are attractive to businesses. Mittlebrunn said that Amador County has the attractive quality of life and two business parks, and he wondered if the county had 40,000 or 50,000 dollars to advertise those qualities. He said tourism is a very big part of economic development, when the “knowledge workers,” the high-pay workers and their families come and see the county. Those are the types of workers and jobs he said he tries to attract to Amador, but have proven “elusive.” Statistics show 16 percent of the Amador workforce commutes out of the county to work, and he believes most are going to those “knowledge worker” jobs. But Amador has grown. He said the Amador County Gross Domestic Product total 793 Million Dollars in 1997 and it grew by 48 percent in 8 years, to 1.5 Billion Dollars in 2005. Mittlebrun said there has been 41 Million Dollars worth of business expansions throughout the county, adding to the property value, while there have been 385 jobs created in the county since September of 1990. Story By Jim Reece (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
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