ANNUAL MEETING SPEECH 12/04/01

Most of us recall Dickens’s “Tale of Two Cities” which starts out, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I think that most of us would agree that, as it pertains to the Clinton area and even in light of the dastardly terrorist events this fall that on balance, these are neither the best of times nor the worst of times for the Clinton area. A year ago, when Tom Aller and his DOT commissioners met here on the west end of Clinton, our Tom Myers pointed out the many and varied improvement projects going on throughout our Clinton area.

We had just dedicated the Phase I west end of the rebuilding of US Highway 67 / 30 through town, and plans were underway to increase our mid-level housing in several private subdivisions including the Clinton Area Housing Development Corporation project north of 13th Avenue. This past year saw the completion of a nearly century long dream today we know as the Mill Creek Parkway, a full year ahead of time and a million dollars under budget. Yes, I know in the enthusiasm to open the roadway there have been a few critical amenities that are still being completed. But the big picture for the long run is that this new phase of transportation infrastructure will open up the high ground for development by the next several generations.

Only a few years have passed since then DOT director Darrell Rensink leaned over to me on the tour bus and said, “You know, Hughie, I think the only way you’ll get this road built is” with what became the state’s largest RISE application. And he was right when, shortly thereafter, in a more formal setting, Tom Aller told Denny Tice – soon to be retired IDOT planning division director – “there better be something we can do for these folks.” And he was right, too. It then took the intestinal fortitude of the sitting city council and administrator to invest the city’s money wisely and apply for RISE dollars with the assistance of our consultants. And today we can look forward to not only increased manufacturing on the south end but new schools, churches, recreational, cultural, residential and, on the north end, service industry investment in the years to come.

The concept of a business / technology park on the north end was a critical element to the successful RISE grant application. And those of you who are partners at the Iowa-Illinois Highway Partnership as well as in local government and the Chamber have continued to keep the commitment we have developed together and to keep on track the promise of hundreds of new quality jobs, particularly in the service industry where we know that strategically seven or eight out of every ten new jobs are currently being created. We have in place an agreement with professional design and consulting experts to move ahead strategically in the year ahead for the location and infrastructure elements that will make this business / tech park a reality and a success.

The journey to locate, designate and protect critical manufacturing industrial real estate was begun in earnest in recent times as related to you at our annual meeting in 1998. The next 24 months were spent in study and consultation with many of you and resulted in a private document compiled for us by Shive-Hattery after studying much of the southeastern landmass here in Clinton County. It identified six critical areas where manufacturing, distribution, assembly and the service industry may appropriately locate or expand and that we could effectively and cooperatively market with our partners.

Today, I am pleased, on behalf of our board of directors and partners, to tell you that significant progress has been made in the expansion / optioning / protection or acquisition of strategic parcels in five of these six designated areas.

In the months ahead, it will take additional commitment, effort and funds to complete the initial tasks of expanding and building these new industrial sites. But, today I would tell you there is ever more good cause and common sense for us to do so.

Exasperated by the terrorist activities of September 11, but identified before Y2K, is the trend away from tall business buildings, metropolitan office complexes, and myopic site locations only interested in large metropolitan areas to a view in the 21st century of strategic locations and investment for many kinds of industry to less densely populated areas which also means less crime, better corporate and personal health and well being, much lower operating costs, more dependable utilities – these areas to be found in the heartland as strategic locations where critical infrastructure, transportation, financial and educational resources converge.

With an eye towards continued successful efforts of strategically upgrading to our transportation resources, and localized new and expanded inventory of market-ready, market-priced industrial real estate, the prospects for the next decade in our home towns here in Whiteside and Clinton County may be as good as they’ve been in several generations. Naturally, time will tell, but given the current leadership many of you are a part of, and with strategic partnerships at the state and federal level with both programs and people, we can and will continue to see the times get better.

I can tell you that not only my office, but also your board of directors and many of you in the audience today have been involved in ways that were not traditional or perhaps even appropriate a decade ago. We are learning new ways to combine our resources and leverage our relationships, and it is really beginning to show.

In the past year, we have strengthened our relationships in Fulton and Camanche and beyond. We look forward to increased activities both in the expansion of existing business and industry throughout our laborshed area as well as new expanded marketing efforts with our local government, utilities and education. We have seen new investment and new facilities in companies such as Metal Tech, Economy Systems and Ralston, and I’m happy to report that, announced earlier, our Hampshire Pet Products new production facility in Camanche is still scheduled to begin construction next year. We are in the midst of a serious negotiation with one of our major packaging manufacturers for a potential expansion of a significant nature, and that announcement will be forthcoming in the next week or two.

On a more somber note, we must acknowledge the loss at the local level of a major contributor to our economy for most of the past 40 years. International Paper will indeed be missed, and its loss has already been felt throughout the area. We have developed a good relationship with their corporate real estate office and their designated real estate marketers and are participating in the marketing and promotional activities related to the reuse and reoccupation of the facility. The people who worked there are a valuable human resource. We’re part of a major effort with the Department of Economic Development that extends through many of us here to help these workers and these facilities find a new and useful purpose.

Despite these job losses, an ongoing recession and terrorist activities, our annual net job count from Doug Rempfer and David Rose, “The D & D Report,” is actually “up 40” for the year … in this down market; not every area has been able to hold its own this year, and we have. “That’s the way we should look at it,” Dave says.

We also know now the money has now been found to open the new prison. That is a monumental economic development that in time will result in a thousand jobs, new families with living wages and a strong multiplier effect: a true regional and long-lasting benefit.

One of our long established endeavors is the industrial expansion and visitation program. This past year, the team has consisted of Mayor LaMetta Wynn and sometimes other local officials from Clinton, Camanche and Fulton; myself; Karen Vickers or Anne Schmidt from Clinton Community College; Sister Mary Ann Phelan; Karen Sagar; Dennis Lauver; occasionally Gene Machael, Stephen Schultz or Ken Sivertsen from Alliant Energy; and all this headed up by volunteer Ilene Deckert on loan to us from the Eastern Iowa Community College and the Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Visits are scheduled with selected companies on a rotating basis, and this year’s hosts included Collis Tool Corporation, Promotion Fulfillment Center; Gateway Marble and JT Cullen Companies from Fulton; the Clausen Companies, Clinton Furniture Manufacturing, the city of Clinton, Iowa-American Water Company, Stampede Products, Archer Daniels Midland [and by the way, if you’re not aware, there is a major new emphasis from Decatur to and through our local operations here in Clinton and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on safety. There is a significant educational effort underway involving employee safety, product safety and safety for the environment. We compliment ADM for their continued and important presence]. Our visitations this year concluded with the Clinton Herald last month and scheduled yet in December – Blue Ridge Paper Products. We believe all these companies and employers have appreciated the opportunity to talk with our key leaders and hear that our team is here for their team and that we appreciate the millions of dollars they pump into our regional economy, paycheck to paycheck and product sale to product sale.

You know, earlier in the year after a major announcement by one of our good neighbors, I got an anonymous letter in the mail, not so neatly written, which asked “what do you do all day?” and, of course, I’d like to think it didn’t come from any of you here in attendance today. But, it’s a good question, and maybe this year it’s a good time to take a minute or two to give you a little accounting of the effort that goes into marketing this great Clinton area.

For example, this past year I’ve had the opportunity to visit with two ladies that are very important to us and relatively new in their positions. The first is the head of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and the second is the director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. I met them both when we were invited to represent this area at Bio 2001, a world-class marketing event last summer. Our angle continues to be promoting our area to high-tech, value-added ag and other related biotechnology prospects.

You should know that we formed a group and made a consorted effort to attract any major new electric generating facilities that Alliant might build in either Iowa or Illinois, and for other projects there were a variety of marketing trips, trade shows and several home office visits. In fact, I’m out of the office more than half the time, often in the company of our marketing partners from the state, utilities and railroad calling on clients and prospects and doing at arm’s length and face to face whatever it takes to connect and looking for that “opportunity to do business.”

Here’s an example of one particularly busy file [hold up file], and most of this one has been built in the past 12 months. So, you can see we don’t just sit at home and wait for someone to call us, but we’re out there trying to connect and get our message across. The trouble is most of them get away and it’s not been a particularly good year for new prospects, and that started way before September 11th. Some good news may be that we’ve seen more new prospect activities in the last 30 days than we’ve seen in any three months previously this year. We’ve responded recently to a quarter billion dollar European chemical production plant project as well as have worked or are working on bio-mass energy plants, co-generation, several $200 million dollar plus projects requiring rail to river connections, air cargo carriers, fabricated metals locations, photo finishing facilities, rail car rebuilders, electronics assemblers and, yes, even new food packaging manufacturers.

I want to point out that these marketing efforts also include a strong will to work for the re-development of our area. I believe Mark Cross is with us today. He’s the fellow who’s in the process of redeveloping the former PCS Nitrogen site, and we’ve already had a half dozen meetings with as many prospects and several more with partners from rail and utilities who can bring us additional projects in the year ahead. So, you see, we do know it takes calls to get results, and we don’t mind making them. Speaking of calls that get results …

Dennis Lauver at the Chamber reports that our annual regional Mayor’s Economic Development trips to DC are now paying off to the tune of $8 million. Everyone who is involved year in and year out is to be thanked, and I’m happy to tell you for Barb Suehl and the Illinois U.S. 30 folks that the $ ¾ million study bill is now officially on the President’s desk … I’ve got to think he’s going to sign it!

Then, we’ve got some familiar faces in new places: congratulations to Randy Balk, our new city administrator in Fulton.

And … some just plain new faces: Jeff Kooistra, our new city administrator in Clinton. Congratulations and welcome aboard, partners!

In fact, the Development Corporation would like to acknowledge and thank those many of you in government, both at the local level and beyond, for your strategic investment in time, resources and programs that have enabled our work to continue for what will soon be the past half century. For those of you as elected officials, both who have previously served and for those of you coming on board, we extend our hand in continued partnership and ask for your wisdom and leadership as you form policies that will guide and enable those who are appointed officials to work with us and the private sector to achieve the strategic goals of attracting major new business investment and create an environment that welcomes families to grow together. We will build a better business climate based on our own natural and human resources.

Especially this holiday season, cling to your family and friends. Pray for and support our leaders and soldiers. Take care of yourselves, take care of business, and …. Straight ahead into two thousand and two!

(Intro & bio for Tom Aller)

In recent years, many of you have come to know Tom Aller for his service as a commissioner on the Iowa Department of Transportation. It can easily be said, especially now as chairman, that he represents not only the Cedar Rapids area and eastern Iowa but also truly all of Iowa and inter-modal transportation infrastructure policy as it affects the Heartland for well into the 21st century.

Tom and I grew up about a dozen miles apart as the crow flies. His dad did business with my dad, and we’ve both known each other and been involved in government and economic development activities here in eastern Iowa for a long time.

So, Tom, it gives me a great deal of personal pleasure, and I know we all appreciate your coming over to visit with us today.

What you may not know is that Tom is also president of Alliant Energy Investments, Inc., responsible for much of the non-energy producing assets associated with that related corporation. In addition, he has also been, for the last dozen years, executive vice president of the Cedar Rapids based 2001 Development Corporation, a for profit company established to assist public and private redevelopment efforts in Cedar Rapids.

I really got to know Tom when, for many years, he was executive assistant to long-time Cedar Rapids mayor Don Caney and the city council, and I was the young upstart councilman from Mechanicsville who followed Don Caney as president of the Iowa League of Cities, a position our own LaMetta Wynn currently holds. [By the way, LaMetta stayed in town to be with us today and is off to Atlanta for the rest of the week for this year’s NLC Conference. Brings back memories, doesn’t it Tom? Business and monkey business.]

Tom’s a graduate of Creighton, cum laude in political science. He also has a master’s degree in municipal administration from the University of Iowa [go Hawks!]. He’s married and has two (grown?) daughters. He and his spouse have long loved antiques, preservation and the performing arts. Following closely on the heels of our dear friend and former DOT chair, Sister Catherine Dunn -- we would all expect that to be a tough act to follow.

Well, I for one can tell you Tom Aller is up to the task in a difficult time with receding resources, and although, as I told you to start, this is not the worst of times, I’m afraid Tom’s probably going to tell us it’s not the best of times either. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Thomas L. Aller. Tom ….