Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Kosciusko Development Inc. listened to a presentation by Dr. Mark Akey, interim CEO of Northwest Indiana Innovation Center at Wednesday's meeting.
NIIC is a not-for-profit "incubator" center that takes new companies and helps develop them economically. It's located in Fort Wayne on 40 acres next to Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne.
NIIC targets industries including biomedical, telecommunications and advanced manufacturing systems. The center's interest in Warsaw includes the biomedical industries.
Akey stressed that Indiana has the potential to become a high tech industrial area.
"We really need to have more economic development," Akey said.
NIIC is the leading innovation center in the state.
Akey's purpose Wednesday was to educate the KDI board members on the center and inform them of the possibilities in helping develop economic growth in the area.
In other business:
• The board member action of voting on replacing David Delp with Craig Allebach was not done as planned. The board needs 14 members to vote and only nine showed up Wednesday. This was postponed for the next meeting.
• Economic development coordinator Monica Williams said KDI received the first payment of the Community Development Action Grant for $11,730.05.
The grant, which is issued by the Department of Commerce, totals $20,000.
Williams also attended a NIPSCO training session in Goshen July 25. This session helped Williams learn how to update NIPSCO's Web site.
Williams will attend the Indiana Economic Development Association fall conference Sept. 21 and 22.
• Executive director Joy McCarthy-Sessing reported that Danco Co. has started construction and has gotten their foundation in.
This company will specialize in titanium anodizing of orthopedic parts.
The Indiana Health Industry Forum issued a study assessing the impact of the biomedical and biotechnical industry in the county. The forum will interview people in the community about this study around the end of October.
• KDI hired Ergo Resources to conduct a wage survey. Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce and retail service companies were surveyed to determine the county's wages for positions during the week.
• McCarthy-Sessing reported the county gave KDI $35,000 for their budget instead of the $50,000 the board had requested.
KDI board members are: Executive director Joy McCarthy-Sessing, Craig Allebach, Dennis Beville, Brad Bishop, John Byrd, Marsha Eikenberry, Jeff Noffsinger, Brian Redshaw, Charlie Smith and Julie VanDe Water.
