Salina YPN - Tonight @ the Air Conditioned Salina Art Center.
See you there!
Recent Posts
- Salina YPN - Tonight @
- We ARE NOT working with
- State government agency staff in
- Salina YPN is this Thursday.
- looking forward to meeting the
- Just traded emails with one
- Just talked to Community Access
- Meet the Kansas based firms
- Guest Editorial I Submitted Earlier This Week to the Salina Journal
- I'm on a KDOT working
July 2009
July 09, 2009
July 07, 2009
We ARE NOT working with an out of towner to sell advertising on phone book covers.
Buyer beware - this is why you should shop local!
State government agency staff in town working with our team to help two employers grow...might have a great project in the works!
Salina YPN is this Thursday. 5:00 pm @ www.salinartcenter.org
Meet other professionals and learn about a true cultural asset of Salina
July 06, 2009
July 03, 2009
Just traded emails with one of my favorite observers of America: Mr. Joel Kotkin.
He supplied great opening quote for my 7.14.09 speech!
Just talked to Community Access TV - my 7.14.09 speech re: new approaches to economic development will be broadcast (possibly live)!
Meet the Kansas based firms that buy/sell what you make/need.
Economic Development starts @ home. http://ping.fm/z1GIE
Guest Editorial I Submitted Earlier This Week to the Salina Journal
The 2010 legislature will have the opportunity to move toward a new comprehensive transportation program that is right for the second decade of the 21st century. There are several key aspects of the new program that will enable Salina and Kansas to secure job creation and capital investment into the future.
There must be a multi-modal component in the transportation program to improve the ability to attract jobs and investment. Salina is a great community to work and live. Our location and assets such as the airport and two Interstates attract attention from growth projects. Across Kansas, growth projects desire construction of a multi-million dollar rail spur or creation of a regional public transit service so people can get to work. Sometimes, the final business investment decisions are influenced by specific details that local support alone cannot solve.
An economic impact analysis should factor in KDOT decision making. Preservation, modernization and capacity improvements are important. However, Kansas needs to be competitive with other states for jobs and investment. Going forward, Kansas needs to intentionally create transportation system improvements that will trigger job creation and capital investment. A stronger economy will create the growth that will provide increased revenue for additional transportation investments and further economic development. The 2010 legislative session should be presented a rational system for using economic development as criteria for transportation project selection on a statewide basis.
More flexibility is needed for the years ahead. During the last transportation program, all the projects were picked at the beginning of the ten-year timeframe. This limits the state's ability to address emerging transportation needs. We don't know what the growth industries of 2019 are going to be. We certainly don't know what the transportation infrastructure aspects of those growth industries will be. Salina and Kansas must have the flexibility to address economic opportunities when they arise. A new approach with a series of 2 to 3 year plans makes more sense. Legislators must trust the process and know that the process will produce results that help all of Kansas.
We can accomplish this with a responsible use of debt. Many people think bonding is a revenue stream to finance improvements and they resist it. However, bonding is really just a financing tool. The use of debt is widely used to finance infrastructure improvements and it must be used cautiously. By capping the amount of debt at 18 percent of KDOT annual revenues, we will ensure that debt is used responsibly in Kansas. Historically, Kansas stays well below this level in order to create flexibility to meet the infrastructure needs of emerging and significant economic opportunities. Bonding does not impact the State General Fund because the State Highway Fund is mutually exclusive in the eyes of bondholders and rating agencies.
There are many complex issues that will face the Kansas legislature when they convene in 2010. Much of what has been right about the Kansas economy over the last couple of decades was because of a well done comprehensive transportation plan. However, the 2nd decade of the 21st century calls for a new business model and a new approach.
With an approach that recognizes there are other modes of transportation in addition to roads and highways, with a model that accurately measures the ability to stimulate job creation & capital investment, with a plan that has the flexibility to changing needs and with an approach that is appropriate for taxpayers, the Kansas legislature can continue to work with the Kansas Department of Transportation to create a great statewide transportation system for years to come.
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