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Semi-Annual Report July-December 2011
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Gaylord Downtown Facade Projects Completed
Gaylord Pavilion Upgrade Includes Sister City Graphics
Cooper-Standard Automotive Gaylord Geo-Thermal Project Complete
Work Continues on Otsego County Aerospace Diversification Study
OCEA/CCEDP Multi-County Economic Development Exploratory Committee
Small Business Assistance|
Follow-Up on I-75 Crossing Projects
News From Northern Initiatives
Gaylord Downtown Facade Projects Completed
A $597,459 Downtown Gaylord facade improvement project, the third in two years, is completed.
With $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), $41,600 from the Gaylord DDA, and owner matches totaling $161,859, eight businesses on Gaylord's main street have a new "face". Buildings participating in the facade improvement project this past fall include Seams Like New, Saturn Bookseller, Venus & Blue Jeans, Alpine Executive Center, Timothy's Pub, the Scott Building, the Downtown Motel, and the McNamara Building.
The Alliance assisted with securing the funding and administered the grant project.
  
Seams Like New Saturn Bookseller McNamara Building
  
Downtown Motel Alpine Executive Center (Front & side views.)
  
111 Michigan - (Side and front views.) Stucco & Paint to come. Timothy's Pub
Venus & Blue Jeans
Click on photos above for larger images.
Gaylord Pavilion Upgrade Includes Sister City Graphics
Inclement weather will no longer have a big effect on events being held at the Pavilion on Court in downtown Gaylord. In addition to improving the climate of the Pavilion, visitors and residents will have a "view" of the mountains of our sister city, Pontresina, Switzerland.
The $201,000 upgrade to equip the Pavilion with canvas sides and infrared heating units is complete thanks to a $170,000 grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and funding from the Gaylord DDA. The canvas panels, which can be lowered during windy, rainy or cold days, are printed with graphics depicting seasonal scenes of the mountains in Pontresina, making them both functional and eye-appealing!
With the improvements to the Pavilion, the Farmers' Market will be able to open in April and extend through the month of November. Other activities will benefit by not being affected by inclement weather, encouraging and increasing participation in downtown events.
The Otsego County Economic Alliance, working with the Gaylord DDA, packaged the project for MEDC financing and provided project management.
Cooper-Standard Automotive Gaylord Geo-Thermal Project Complete
A $318,000 project to convert the Cooper-Standard Automotive Gaylord manufacturing plant production line air-cooled chiller system to a Hybrid Geo-exchangde system was recently completed.
The project, funded partly by $126,800 of CDBG funds secured from the MEDC, resulted in 11 new jobs at the plant. The Alliance assisted with securing the funding and administered the grant project.
  
Control Room Pump Room Chiller Equipment Building &
150-Ton Cooling Tower
Click on photos above for larger images.
Work Continues on Otsego County Aerospace Diversification Study
The Otsego County Economic Alliance and the Gaylord Regional Airport Advisory Committee continue work on a proposed project designed to develop a manufacturing diversification strategy focused on the aerospace sector that will build off of the community's manufacturing and location strengths.
The objectives of the project will be to increase manufacturing activity in a sector other than the auto industry; build on long-term investment in the airport and local/regional manufacturing base; and create a market for existing small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the area.
The first step identified in this process is to enagage a consultant and undertake a study that will investigate the feasibility of this effort. The ultimate goal is a project that will be designed to benefit the small- and medium-sized manufacturers in Otsego County and potentially the region, depending upon the nature of the identified project.
Focus group meetings are being conducted on February 8th and 9th. These meetings are aimed at gathering, analyzing and assessing various development options. For more information regarding these meetings, contact Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director, at 989-731-0288 or jeff@gaylord-otsego.com.
Funding for Phase I and II of a three phase project will come from a $47,000 USDA Rural Business and Enterprise Grant which has been approved, $60,000 MEDC CDBG funds, $8,000 from Otsego County and $5,000 from the Otsego County Economic Alliance.
OCEA/CCEDP Multi-County Economic Development Exploratory Committee
The Alliance, working with Crawford County, explored a proposed joint economic development program. A formal exploratory committee, consisting of members of the Otsego County Economic Alliance and the Crawford County Economic Development Partnership, was established to research and discuss a consolidation plan and funding. Crawford County made the decision to table the formation of a joint program at this time.
Small Business Assistance
The Alliance provided assistance to at least 69 individuals and small businesses; referred 45 to the SBTDC for follow up resulting in seven new businesses started, 44 new jobs created, 34 jobs retained, and $1,549,000 in financing secured and more than $2 million in total new investment.
Working with the Gaylord DDA, the Alliance assisted in organizing and promoting two retail marketing workshops for downtown businesses.
OCEA, working with the MEDC, Lowe Foundation, SBTDC Region 3 and other local economic developers in the region, identified and submitted eight Stage 2 companies, including three from Otsego County, to receive targeted business assistance as part of the MEDC/Lowe Foundation Economic Gardening pilot project.
Follow-Up on I-75 Crossing Projects
The Alliance is working with the I-75 Crossing Task Force to complete improvements to Milbocker and McCoy Roads and extend Mankowski Road to the Home Depot parking lot. Working with the Road Commission, MDOT approval has been secured to utilize the balance of the Crossing earmark for these projects and application has been made for MDOT Safety and Category F funds for Mankowski and Milbocker Road improvements. Category F funding has been approved in the amount of $375,000 for the Milbocker Road segment.
 News From Northern Initiatives
The new jobless data came out this month for our 46 Michigan counties and it was mixed. Michigan had a nice downward jump in its unemployment rate in November and generally what you can see in this data is continuing improvement occurring in the manufacturing oriented counties. The tourism counties saw the end of their summer followed by fall color tourism and saw a move toward higher jobless numbers. The winter tourism counties waited for snow and so the positive impacts of winter tourism had yet to come into play in most places. Add it all up and you have a very mixed picture for rural Michigan. Twenty-three counties saw their jobless rate go down, twenty-two went up and one stayed the same.
For more Northern Initiatives news, visit http://www.niupnorth.org/.
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