EDSR INFORMATION #2 11-10-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEEKER COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE 325 North Sibley Avenue 3•11 1r Litchfield,MN 55355-2155 w ti Phone:(320)693-5200 Fax:(320)693-5444 4),_I.::anent „ e-mail address:paul.virnig@co.meeker.mn.us PAUL VIRNIG County Administrator October 14, 2003 OCT , Commissioner Rachel Leonard �`� Sherburne County Government Center 13880 Highway 10 Elk River,MN 55330 Dear Commissioner Leonard: Over the past three years, Minnesota businesses have been struggling. The negative impacts upon local economies are real. In the four counties of Region 6E alone,we have lost 1849 well-paying manufacturing jobs, or 16% of our manufacturing employment base. We have seen recent signs of a turnaround,but positive growth is a slow process. It is also a process that is nurtured when all Minnesotans work together in a spirit of cooperation, 4110 because, as the state economy goes, our local economies go. It is with a sense of regret,then,that we were informed last week that Sherburne County has been directly contacting Meeker County manufacturers to encourage them to move to Sherburne County. Mailings to county businesses included a 30-page, 4-color brochure and a letter from the Sherburne County Economic Development Alliance stating, "We invite your business to (re)-locate in Sherburne County." Not only would this action provide no net return for Minnesota,but it also is a strike against the spirit of statewide cooperation so necessary for moving our corporate economy forward. The Meeker County Development Director informs us that any Minnesota city/county economic development departments directly contacting individual businesses in other non- metro communities without first being contacted by a business is recognized as unethical practice. It simply is not done, and it is not an appropriate action. We respectfully request a list of all Meeker County businesses contacted by the Sherburne County Economic Development Alliance so we may conduct a follow up visit with our important employers. We request the Alliance refrain from this practice in the future; and we look forward • "An Equal Opportunity Employer"