Economic Development Commission
2006 Year End Report

Jack Smith, council liaison
Scott Fogleman, staff liaison

The Economic Development Commission (EDC) consists of 12 members from within Cary ’s corporate limits.  The EDC promotes and encourages the economic, commercial, financial, industrial, agricultural, and civic welfare of Cary citizens and taxpayers by supporting the development, attraction, retention and expansion of businesses, industries, commerce and employment within the community and region.  The EDC conducted six regular meetings, one subcommittee meeting, and one joint worksession with council during 2006. 

Highlights of the board’s activities for 2006 are as follows:

• EDC members attended the final Economic Development Action Plan (report) presentation in February made to council by the Sanford Holshouser Business Development Group.  This marked the culmination of earlier work with the consulting team including a focus group discussion with the EDC members to gather input on a variety of economic development related topics as well as providing feedback on the preliminary report.
• Following the final presentation by the Sanford Holshouser Business Development Group to council in February, the council directed the EDC to review the report options on how the Town should organize for economic development and to make a recommendation to the Town Council.
• The EDC worked to evaluate all of the suggested organizational approaches referenced in the report during a special subcommittee meeting and during their regular meetings in March, April, and May.  Research on the topic involved input from Cary Chamber of Commerce representatives, Town staff members, and all EDC members, and the review included pros and cons of each organizational option related to various topics such as the hiring process, funding, program development, and accountability.
• The unanimous EDC recommendation for the Town to organize for economic development by having the Cary Chamber of Commerce hire an Economic Development Director (EDD) was presented to the council during a joint worksession in June.  During that same worksession, the council voted to have the Cary Chamber of Commerce hire an EDD to take the lead on executing the recommendations as outlined in the Sanford Holshouser report and funded the program accordingly.
• The EDC met with the new Economic Development Director in November and plans to meet in early 2007 to review and finalize a Chamber report to the council that will identify the first year implementation priorities and a time-phased action plan for the next four years that will work toward achieving the goals outlined in the report prepared by Sanford Holshouser.