Economic Development In Livingston County, Michigan : A Primer I. INTRODUCTION The Public Works and Economic Development unemployment rate. 4.) It is an area which Act of 1965 provides federal assistance to areas has or is threatened with an abrupt rise in suffering persistent and substantial unemployment due to the closing or curtailment unemployment and underemployment. of a major source of employment, and which Livingston County has been designated as a has or can reasonably be expected to have an redevelopment area under the Act, and as unemployment rate 100 percent or more above such, is eligible for federal aid available through the national average. Written requests for the Economic Development Administration special impact area assistance may be submitted (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. by the county or local government. Requests must contain a description of the proposed boundary and facility characteristics of the For several years the county’s economic proposed special impact area, including a map indicators such as unemployment rate and showing the relation to the larger area to which percent of low income households, has remained it is a part. The request must also contain a low. Despite the overall economic health of description of the socioeconomic characteristics Livingston County, some of our local managers of the proposed special impact area, written and supervisors have noted specific areas of their evidence of support from members of the community that have been economically community at large and an up-to-date Overall disadvantaged. To meet the needs of smaller Economic Development Program (OEDP) geographic areas, the rules and regulations of prepared by the designated redevelopment area. the EDA provide for the designation of a special impact area. To apply for EDA funding as a special impact area, a community must meet The EDA requires an OEDP to contain certain one of the following criteria: 1.) It must basic elements identifying an area's needs, contain a large concentration of low income resources, and economic development potential. persons (an area selected for assistance under The OEDP document is not an economic the Community Economic Development Act of analysis of a community; rather, it serves as a 1981 or an area in which a majority of the description of an area's strengths and weaknesses families are living in poverty as defined by the and as a framework to establish a continuing U.S. Department of Health and Human Services economic development program. A revised guidelines). 2.) It is a rural area which has OEDP must be submitted on an annual basis, experienced a minimum out migration rate of at and should re-evaluate an area's development least 25 percent during the most recent 10- strategies in light of changes in the local year period as established by the Bureau of the resources available and potential of the area. Census. 3.) It is an area of substantial unemployment, meaning one which: experienced an average unemployment rate at This document - 1999 Overall Economic least 50 percent higher than the U.S. average Development Program Livingston County, unemployment rate for the most recent 12- Michigan is prepared by the Livingston County month period for which data are available; or is Department of Planning. Its purpose is to serve currently experiencing an unemployment rate at as a guide and stimulus for future economic least 100 percent higher than the U.S. average development efforts in Livingston County. Livingston County Department of Planning 1 Economic Development In Livingston County, Michigan : A Primer II. THE OEDP COMMITTEE C Select the most feasible development opportunities Creation and Function C Devise a plan to develop those opportunities C Provide a detailed work program for that The Board of Directors of the Livingston County plan Economic Development Council serves as the OEDP review committee. The Committee is Composition charged with the general responsibility of developing a Livingston County OEDP, and with The Economic Development Council Board focusing on locally determined goals and brings a broad range of community interests and objectives to improve the County economic backgrounds to the County development development process. The Committee is further planning process. Eight major interest areas are assigned the following specific tasks: represented by the Board: Government, Business, Finance, Community Services, Professional Services, Education, Industry and C Gather facts to understand the present Utility Provision. Names, occupations and areas economic situation of interest represented by the current Board C Identify potential development opportunities members are listed below. 1999 LIVINGSTON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL BOARD BOARD MEMBER OCCUPATION/ORGANIZATION AREA OF INTEREST William D. Wagoner Livingston County Planning Government Lowell Blackbourn Ogihara America Corporation Business/Industry Marilynn Troutman Detroit Edison Utility Provision C. James Hall State Farm Insurance Business Robert Hajdu Michigan National Bank Finance/Community Services Jerry Joseph Dunnage Engineering Business/Industry Barb Martin First National Bank Finance David V.J. Linksz County Commissioner Government Rich Perlberg Hometown Newspapers Business F. Bill Pike Consumers Energy Utility Provision J. David Reck Attorney - Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone Professional Services Lee Reeves Howell Area Chamber of Commerce Professional Services Joyce Rogers Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce Professional Services Facundo Bravo Uni-Boring Corporation Business/Industry Tom Sullivan Cleary College Education Dave Peden Fowlerville Community Schools Education Cindy Denby Handy Township Government Government Don Wyland Puritan Industries Business/Industry 2 Livingston County Department of Planning Economic Development In Livingston County, Michigan : A Primer These roadways connect the county to the IV. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION Assessment of Strengths/Opportunities and surrounding region and the national Weaknesses/Constraints Interstate Highway system. Perhaps the best place to begin assessing the local Rail - Rail service is provided to the county economy is to comment upon the economy of by two major freight carriers: CSX the State of Michigan. Livingston County, along Transportation Inc. and TSB Tuscola with the rest of the industrialized southeast Saginaw Bay (Ann Arbor) Railroad. Michigan region is highly dependent upon the automobile industry for employment. While Air - Detroit Metropolitan Airport is 50 there is not at present a major automotive plant miles from the center of the county via within the county, it is safe to state that the auto the direct connection provided by the industry, directly or indirectly, supplies Interstate Highways. Locally, the employment to a large portion of the local labor Livingston County Airport, Hyne force. Many county residents commute to plants Airport and Maple Grove Airport located in other communities. Still others work serve private and business aircraft. in local shops, which either produce parts utilized by automotive plants or are in some way involved Water - The Port of Detroit is less than an in the automotive aftermarket. hour’s drive from Livingston County. A lack of diversity in employment base can be Another locational opportunity enjoyed by considered as the major weakness of Livingston Livingston County is its proximity to the County's, and Michigan's, economy. metropolitan areas of Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Dependence upon the automotive industry has Jackson and Lansing. Livingston County lies placed the county, like the state, in the within the circle described by these areas. It is unwelcome position of being at the mercy of the projected that nearly 6,000,000 people live in economic fortunes of nearly a single industry. this broad area which is the site of substantial industrial development and employment. What strengths can be identified in the Livingston County economy? Foremost among them is an advantageous geographic location. The physical location of the county presents a broad range of PROJECTED 2000 REGIONAL POPULATION opportunities which can be exploited, and ESTIMATE promoted, for economic development. First, Livingston County is located adjacent to a variety of existing, high quality transportation modes. Metropolitan Area 2000 Population Estimate Ann Arbor 554,700 Highway - Interstate 96 and U.S. 23 roadways Detroit 4,391,200 traverse the county in east-west and north-south directions, respectively. Flint 437,700 There are four state highways: M- Jackson 156,700 59, M-36, M-106, and M-155. Livingston County Department of Planning 3 Economic Development In Livingston County, Michigan : A Primer Lansing 445,600It may at first seem odd to describe this as a locational factor yet much of the quality of life in Total 5,985,900Livingston County is the result of its physical Source: State of Michigan Department of Management & location and character. The landscape in Budget, Michigan Information Center. Livingston County is some of the most beautiful in southern Michigan. The diversity of terrain provides unequaled vistas and recreational Another location advantage, or strength, opportunities not shared by the remainder of possessed by the county is a high “quality of life.” the region. Open Space and recreational 4 Livingston County Department of Planning Economic Development In Livingston County, Michigan : A Primer opportunities in Livingston County are provided The communities within