So, where does Wichita/Sedgwick County go from here? The article by the Eagle does a good job highlighting the problems, but the challenge now lies in rebuilding. How do they get sites to a shovel ready condition? Where does the money come from? Who are the players? How soon can all of this occur? I offer a few thoughts below:1. Start with a plan - This may seem simple but one of the biggest problems the Wichita/Sedgwick County area has dealt with for awhile has been the lack of a formalized game plan. I talk internally to folks at TranSystems all the time and it always goes back to sports analogies for me. When Bill Snyder took over the "worst football program in America" at K-State in 1989, the first thing he developed was a plan. It drove every decision he made and he rarely deviated. The rest is history. Wichita/Sedgwick County needs a plan!
2. Hire a consultant - The agencies need help formalizing the plan from industry experts who are familiar with the planning steps, including analyzing existing infrastructure, understanding what industries work here and which ones don't, and a plan that can develop "next steps" to get sites from raw ground to shovel ready. The consultant could act as Program Manager and help organize all the different stakeholders, plan meetings for them, build consensus and be the leader in setting up a formalized economic development program dedicated to industrial parks. The consultant will need to work with public and private utilities, the State of Kansas, and the railroads among many others. The consultant should also know how transportation will work from a site perspective but also what the industry needs will be. Depending on how the contract is setup, the consultant team can go as far as developing and maintaining a marketing program including online website creation, developing marketing materials, travelling to various industrial trade shows and meeting with prospective companies. TranSystems would be a good place to start, we are already working with Law-Kingdon for the City of Bel Aire on an industrial park master plan....give us a call!
3. Form an "industrial development authority" - Once the consultant has developed the game plan, the various stakeholders should develop the Wichita Industrial Development Authority. Its role would be 100% dedicated to business and industrial development in the Wichita/Sedgwick County metro area. The board would be made up of agency representatives and key business leaders. It would not be a paid board, but members would serve on a volunteer basis. The board would carry out the plan outlined by the consultant.
4. Political Buy In - Political leadership in turning this around will be at the heart of making this initiative happen. It ties directly into the funding question. Is this a high enough priority for the local elected officials to allow their own budgets to contribute to the startup costs of hiring a consultant team and developing the plan? It seems to me that as I type this and with the Kansas.com article, they are very interested. A true consensus builder will be needed to get where this area needs to go.
5. Partner with Hutchinson and Newton - As I mentioned earlier, hats off to Newton and Hutchinson for the development of their industrial park. For the Wichita area to become a player, the region needs to come together and communicate. Work as a team. There are many industries that can complement what is happening up north, and those developments are attractive assets to prospective site selectors. Further, a strong Wichita industrial area can help Newton and Hutchinson as well, in the form of new jobs, new housing and industries that are good fits in those areas that support new developments in the Wichita area. Harland Priddle best described this area between Hutchinson, Newton and Wichita as the "Triangle of Prosperity". I think he is spot on!
6. Patience is a Virtue - There is a lot of work to be done so patience is key for a couple of reasons. There is no funding in place, there is no consultant, there are no current viable shovel ready sites available, and there is no marketing plan. It will not happen over night. But with a plan in place and with everyone rowing the boat together, things could happen quicker than one might think. It will all depend on how fast a funding source can be found and what the political will of the community is.
Those are just my initial thoughts. I'm sure I will have more as I think about this some more. Bottom line though is this is a need of extreme importance. Wichita and Sedgwick County's economic future depends on it!
As always, if you have further questions, feel free to give me a call or drop me a line at jrlackey@transystems.com.
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