MISSOURI BUSINESS COUNCIL BEGINS WORK TOWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

JEFFERSON CITY - The chairman of the Missouri House Commerce Committee says he is pleased with the diversity and experience of a group appointed by Gov. Mel Carnahan to draft a comprehensive plan for economic development.

"We really have a good bunch of business, labor and academic people serving on the Missouri Business Council," said the chairman, state Rep. Joe Driskill, D-Poplar Bluff. "Some of the people have corporate backgrounds, some started their own business; but all are very successful in their own right.

"They bring a unique perspective to the governor's office, and that is: if we develop a plan or policy, this group is diverse enough to know how that will play with business."

During his campaign for governor, Carnahan promised to appoint a business council to develop an overall strategic plan, something he argued the state has lacked in past administrations.

Driskill said the goal of the Carnahan administration is to shift the emphasis from just "chasing smokestacks" and trying to bring large, new industries to Missouri. Instead, efforts will be focused toward helping existing businesses expand and creating new ones, he said.

Driskill is also sponsoring Carnahan's JOBS 2000 plan in the legislature, which will implement many of the proposals he pushed for during the campaign to improve economic development.

"We can do a lot more with the resources we have and the structure we already have in place if we look at it in new ways," said Driskill.

The business council held an organizational meeting Feb. 11 in Jefferson City with Carnahan. Driskill attended the session to provide information about the legislation and how it will relate to the strategic plan they will design.

The council has 13 members, including two from Southeast Missouri - Georgia Helderman, owner of Dannie Gilder Trucking Co. in Whitewater, and Ron Douglas, owner of Technical Plastics Inc. in Poplar Bluff.

"Mrs. Helderman is known as a very successful and hard-driving businesswoman, well known for providing good service to customers," said Driskill.

He termed Douglas "a young, aggressive businessman" who started a family plastics business several years ago and made it into a profitable and growing business operation.

In announcing the council, Carnahan said, "It is intolerable that Missouri doesn't have a written economic development plan. We can't compete in a global economy if we don't plan for the future. That's why I've created the council."

The governor is hoping the plan will be completed by the end of 1993.

Another responsibility of the business council will be to recommend to Carnahan the names of several people they feel would be qualified to serve as director of the Department of Economic Development. In his economic development campaign plan, Carnahan said he would seek advice from the council on who to appoint.

Driskill, who is rumored to be a top prospect to head the department, said the business council was likely to provide the governor with names at a meeting held Thursday.

"It is not thought of as a long, drawn out job search," explained Driskill. "The governor already knows who is interested in the job and he is looking to the council to recommend people for the job who are known to be involved in economic development activities and successful in those efforts."

Carnahan has not said when he plans to fill the director's position.

Both Carnahan and Driskill have maintained that the key to new jobs in Missouri is working with existing businesses rather than simply trying to attract new businesses to the state.

Driskill has also complained that previous administrations have placed too much emphasis on tax incentives to try and lure jobs to the state. But, in some instances, incentives such as enterprise zones have gone to businesses that would have expanded anyway or to service jobs that do not pay high wages.

Tom Irwin, a top aide to St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall, also serves on the business council. He believes the state needs to change its focus to bring new jobs to the state.

"Missouri must do a better job of creating jobs and expanding its economic base," said Irwin.

The council includes representatives of major corporations as well as people who have had success developing small businesses.

Larger business representatives include Horace Wilkins Jr. of Southwestern Bell Telephone in St. Louis and Landon Roland of Kansas City Southern Industries.

Organized labor is represented by Duke McVey of the Missouri Labor Council while the needs of the tourism industry are represented by Peter F. Herschend, executive vice president of Silver Dollar City in Branson.

Other council members include: John Starr of Koch Supplies, Inc. in Kansas City; Bill Herzog of Herzog Contracting Corp. in St. Joseph; Raymond Lenzzi, professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia; Diana Lowe of Generation III Inc. in Lebanon, Mo.; Jim Anderson, president of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce; and Susie Grover, owner of two businesses in Macon.

The council will meet weekly for a while and eventually move to quarterly meetings.