David's Blog

The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a luncheon event to release research findings regarding the economic impact Independent School District 709’s Long Range Facilities Plan will have on the region. More than 160 interested community members gathered in the lower level ballroom of the Radisson Hotel to learn how the school district’s plan will affect the local economy in terms of job creation and dollars generated.

Motivated by the belief that residents of our beloved community would benefit from fully understanding the comprehensive impact of the Facilities Plan, the Chamber’s leadership funded the research and hosted the community gathering. We were excited to engage the services of the Labovitz School of Business and Economics – Bureau of Business and Economic Research, a highly regarded research organization, to provide members of our community unbiased information regarding this controversial initiative.

We were delighted when the Bureau’s research clearly illustrated the specific impact the Facilities Plan has had and will continue to have on Duluth and the surrounding region. Those in attendance learned that the Facilities Plan will, from its outset in 2008 until its conclusion in 2012, provide work for up to 1,600 people and have a $442 million economic impact within our region. After providing a detailed description of where the jobs will occur and where the dollars will be generated, Jim Skurla, the Bureau’s director, stated, “After studying the many economic ramifications, it’s clear that the timing of the Facilities Plan could not have been better for our region. This project has become our local stimulus package for the construction, real estate and many other industries.”

For too long, misinformation about the Facilities Plan has been swirling around our Emerald City on the Hill. The Chamber is pleased and proud to be a positive force in putting an end to the speculation and misinformation by providing community members with unbiased, objective and thoroughly researched information. The research results are available on the Chamber’s website at www.duluthchamber.com. You can download the entire report or a summary press release of the report.

The Chamber's leadership believes residents of our beloved community would benefit from fully understanding the comprehensive impact of the Duluth School District's Long Range Facilities Plan. With this as our motivation, the Chamber has contracted with the Labovitz School of Business and Economics - Bureau of Business and Economic Research to conduct research that will clearly illustrate the specific economic impact the Facilities Plan will have in Duluth and the surrounding region. This welcome information will help us fully understand what the Facilities Plan means to our community.

The research will be completed by May 29, 2009. We are motivated to share the research results with you, our valued Chamber members, as soon possible. That is why we have arranged for an initial presentation of the results at a luncheon scheduled for: Monday, June 1, at 11:30 a.m., at the Radisson Hotel. Registration and lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. The program and presentation of research results will begin at noon. The cost for members is $20, with a $35 cost for non-members. You can register by calling 722-5501 or by emailing inquiry@duluthchamber.com or by visiting www.duluthchamber.com.

The Chamber's leadership is excited to engage the services of a respected research organization to provide you unbiased information regarding this controversial initiative. We are pleased and proud to bring the speculation to an end and replace it with timely, useful researched findings. I value and welcome your feedback on this issue. I can be reached at dross@dul uthchamber.com or 740- 3751.

Every community has its unique, ongoing challenges. Concurrently, our nation's economic struggle is causing an increasing number of communities to experience amplified financial duress, family poverty and business failure. How we, as Duluthians, respond to these combined national and Duluth- specific challenges will determine the vibrancy of our shared future. Rising above these challenges will require us to become increasingly effective at handling change. I am optimistic that we are positioned well to rise above these shared challenges and these shared changes.

History teaches us that we too often behave wisely when we have exhausted all other alternatives. Thankfully, our community leaders are increasingly exhibiting wise behavior. The future of our beloved Emerald City on the Hill is being fortified because of it.

It is undeniable that dealing with community change is oftentimes disruptive, and always demanding. The intelligent solutions being generated by Mayor Ness and our business and civic leaders have included thoughtful dialogue. We are making positive strides, but have not yet reached the highest level of discourse. Certainly, heated debate continues within city council meetings, local newspapers, and local interest groups. It is paramount that we not become discouraged in the midst of this discord.

In the midst of this spirited debate lies hope. Change causes resistance, which in turn causes tension and tension generates energy. We can all agree that energy is better than apathy. Where there is energy there is hope for the future. The Chamber's leadership is actively engaged in determining how the business community can most effectively partner with our elected officials to adapt to our nation's, our state's and our community's challenges.

American philosopher William James said, "A great many people believe they are thinking, when they are simply rearranging their prejudices." It is essential that we rise above this likelihood when considering our response to a person proposing change within our community. We can do so by engaging in unthreatening dialogue. When we understand the almost inevitable factor of resistance to change, we begin to see things from a fresh perspective. We begin to see the positive possibilities.

The Chamber is deeply involved in a sincere effort to better understand the views of our members and of our elected officials, while we fashion our positions on local issues. We recently surveyed our members to better understand the challenges they face and the importance they place on various local, state and national issues.

When we speak on behalf of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, we intend to speak with a strong, unified voice that resonates with positive potential for our city and its future. We pledge ourselves to move Duluth forward in a spirit of openness and optimism, and we invite all citizens to do the same.

For Duluth to be competitive in the new economy, we must be willing to bring all of our human, social and cultural capital to the table. This challenge, thankfully, presents us with some exciting advantages.

Drew Digby, regional labor market analyst for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, recently shared his interpretation of these advantages with a Chamber audience. He also indicated how we can put these advantages to work in positioning our beloved community for prosperity.

Our nation’s current recession is causing people to contemplate what is important to them and to their families. This introspection may lead many to conclude that acquiring material possessions will not breed happiness. Likewise, people may begin to question the value of living in increasingly congested megalopolises. Hour-plus commutes, increasing crime rates, and diminishing air and water quality, combined with less available recreational opportunities, may have more and more people deciding that a happy life is more likely in a community the size of Duluth. In coming years, the Emerald City on the Hill will look increasingly compelling. Most of the qualities that attract people to Duluth would be lost in a city of 500,000 citizens, or in a town of 25,000.

Duluth, at 85,000, and the neighboring communities of Superior, Hermantown and Proctor, bringing the area to 125,000, is an ideally sized city – if we can create the economic, social and cultural opportunities that are attractive to people.

More workers are making a living from occupations considered to be within the creative professions. The creative professions include far more than artists, writers and computer programmers – they include doctors, teachers, architects, engineers and bankers, as well. Many of those in the creative professions want to live in places that respect the value of diversity, creativity, and social and cultural capital.

Duluth is well along the right path. Higher education is now one of our major employers, and it continues to grow at a significant rate. Health care is also on the rise. In fact, health care wages accounted for 30.6% of all dollars in paychecks given to Duluth workers.
And, despite an outdated stereotype, Duluth’s citizenry is, on average, younger than most think. In 2000, the median age in Duluth was 35.4. Recent estimates indicate the age has dropped to 33.6.

It gets even more encouraging. The Northland Works initiative recently identified that there will be 75,000 job openings in the next 10 years in Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. Many of those jobs will be filled by people already in the region, by young people who already live here, and by the college students who are planning to stay. Though these statistics are encouraging, we will still need about 22,000 new people to fill the jobs over the next 10 years. And we will need to attract these new workers to our beloved community if we are going to remain a vibrant city.

Fortunately, the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and other community leadership organizations are actively engaged in attracting and retaining young professionals within Duluth. The Chamber’s Fuse Duluth initiative’s mission is: to inform, network and connect young people so they can engage and influence their community. We are also working to provide the creation of jobs that will attract and retain workers of every age within our community.

Drew Digby ended his presentation with a call to action. He asked us to support new ideas, support thoughtful and environmentally sensitive development, support the arts, and support and trust the new people coming to our community. Drew was optimistic that we will do these things. I am equally optimistic.

Duluthians are known for being resilient and hardworking. Let’s ensure that we are also recognized by these other descriptors: welcoming, creative, supportive and optimistic. We must be so. Our city’s future depends on it.

I admire and respect Governor Tim Pawlenty, and I appreciate the restraint, the discipline and the self-sufficiency he encourages Minnesota’s state and city governments to embrace. Governor Pawlenty has asked us to do what he has done himself: exhibit restraint, discipline, and self sufficiency as we work through our city’s challenges.

I have had the opportunity to introduce Governor Pawlenty on several occasions. As a result, I have learned a great deal about him and have come to admire his approach to politics and to life.

Tim Pawlenty has known and overcome adversity. The youngest of five children, he has a blue-collar background that includes a childhood close to the meat-packing plants of South St. Paul and a family that lost its livelihood when those plants closed, leaving his father – a truck driver – without work. At the age of sixteen, Tim experienced the death of his mother and began to work delivering newspapers and stocking shelves at the neighborhood grocery store. These challenges inspired him to do better and reach higher. He worked his way through the University of Minnesota, where he achieved top academic honors, and went on to the University Law School, again working his way through and again earning high honors.

Knowing these facts may help us understand why he recently indicated that he may respectfully decline the proposed additional Federal Government support directed to the states. His position may be summed up as “Thanks, but no thanks. We will take care of these monetary challenges at the State level.” Governor Pawlenty believes that taxes should not increase when businesses are already weighed down by the burden of local, county, and state taxes and fees. He believes, as well, that city financial challenges should be handled by the city. His support lessened among many Duluth area elected officials when he singled out Duluth for what he understands to be a double-digit tax increase even though the economy is in recession and is not expected to grow by more than one percent before the end of 2009. He stated: “Taxes should not increase when the economy and people’s paychecks are not growing.”

I agree. And I believe the great majority of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce members also agree with Governor Pawlenty. This is no time to increase taxes.

Governor Pawlenty should not be vilified for voicing opposition to Duluth’s proposed increase in property taxes. Rather, he should be applauded. I stand in his defense and support his efforts.

Today is a time for optimism within our beloved community. I trust the reelection of our local incumbents has them fortified and reenergized. The concurrent election of new public officials brings promise and heightened opportunity for invention and daring. The synergy generated by this combination of renewed and emergent leaders promises to bring out the best for our community by bringing out the best in every community member – if we allow it to happen.

We would be wise to choose to stay involved in bettering our community, regardless of whether or not the individuals we supported were successful in being elected. I hope we can recommit ourselves to advancing our civic goals regardless of the disappointment or jubilation we may have experienced during this recent election season. The future of our Emerald City on the Hill depends on it.

If we are to capitalize on the reconfiguration of Duluth’s political leadership, it will require us to unite in uplifting those whom our community members elected. The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce’s leadership is prepared to harness its energy, insight and optimism in an effort to support our elected officials as they work to make our community a better place in which to work and reside. We are committed to motivate even more of our 1,170 members to become involved in initiatives that will enable our political leaders to meet the challenges before them. Moreover, the Chamber intends, as always, to strengthen our business community through the support we supply local business initiatives.

The Chamber’s leadership understands how we cannot sustain healthy businesses in an unhealthy community. Chamber businesses will be successful only if our community remains a vibrant, healthy, safe and empowering place in which to live.

Please consider this article a public announcement that the Chamber’s leadership will marshal our resources to assist our political leaders in their efforts to make the coming years a time of unprecedented success for our community members. Our goal is to build successful businesses within a healthy community.

Three years after Duluthians voted overwhelmingly to help fund it, the long-anticipated expansion of the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) has begun. The expansions first phase, the construction of a 475-spot parking ramp, is underway. Construction of the expansion’s centerpiece, the Duluth Arena, will begin in April 2009. The Arena will open in December 2010. The dream has become reality.

The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce has been an unwavering advocate for the DECC expansion. Three years ago, the Chamber partnered with the Duluth Construction and Building Trades to champion the DECC expansion at the Minnesota State Legislature. We also partnered with the DECC’s leadership, UMD’s leadership, and Duluth’s elected officials to make a strong case for the State of Minnesota to fund $38 million of the $80 million investment.

Our appeal for support was eventually embraced by all. Governor Pawlenty, the State House of Representatives and the State Senate were favorably impressed by Duluthians’ decision to help fund the expansion by approving an increase in the city food and beverage tax. As well, these decision-makers were impressed with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s plan to fund 12% of the DECC expansion and the DECC’s plan to fund 11% of the expansion. These State decision-makers eventually voted to approve the State’s $38 million contribution.

Those of us who reside in and around our Emerald City on the Hill will be the beneficiaries of the DECC expansion. The new activities that will occur within the expanded DECC will bring millions of dollars each year into our economy through shopping, lodging, dining and other purchases. The new Arena, alone, will dramatically increase the more than $750,000 in sales tax the DECC currently collects each year.

Additionally, the expansion will provide needed construction jobs. It will employ 300 full-time, union jobs at the peak of construction. It will also provide us hardy walkers a new skywalk link connecting the new parking ramp and the Northwest Passage from Downtown to the new Arena. The additional skywalk will provide more convenient access to the DECC, as well as additional protection from the Gales of November (and December, January, February, and March) for DECC visitors.

There is much to celebrate as the long-held dream of building one of the best convention and entertainment facilities in the world here in Duluth comes to fruition. The Chamber is pleased and proud to have played a small part in making the dream become reality.