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Livingston County seeks to boost economic development
By Tony Sapochetti
tsapochetti@pantagraph.com
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PONTIAC -- Livingston County's government leaders are looking for a way to find and bring new jobs to the county.

"I talked with (Pontiac Mayor) Scott McCoy perhaps first about economic development in the county and somewhere in the conversation he said that this was something that I should discuss with the mayors," said County Board Chairman Bill Flott. "I was invited to the meeting and this was a topic that they were all very interested in."

During a recent meeting of the Livingston County Mayors Association, Fairbury Mayor Robert Walter said the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs mapped and assessed the community a few years ago to better understand how it could be improved.

Since then, Walter said, Fairbury has added businesses and other features.

"I think it is a very good process and if we are to look at economic development for the whole county, then we need to assess the needs of every community," he said. "The needs in Fairbury might be similar to the needs in Cornell or Cullom, but they might not be the same in Pontiac. Overall, it was a good process to do some brainstorming for everyone."

Saunemin Mayor Mike Stoecklin looks forward to the ideas that will come forth.

"It was very apparent that this was the direction that we wanted to take and the fact that what's good for one town could be good for another," Stoecklin said. "We still have a lot of work to do and we are just getting to the point where we can start with some substance instead of meeting around a table two or three times a year."

Walter said Flott and the mayors agreed the focus should be the entire county.

"This is going to be broad-based for all of Livingston County, but it is still in the negotiation phases," Flott said. "The people that should be a part of this (are) the board and elected officials, but the main movers and shakers should be from the business community as they probably know the most about economic development."

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Reader comments on this story - 2 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

easy ;kill growth wrote on Aug 23, 2007 6:15 PM:

" All the mayors on a good day can not save Livingston Co. It is the same crap all year long, they talk, but nothing ever is going to come of it. Pontiac spends money like water to see what to do next then nothing! Livingston Co. spends money and nothing! No reel growth just a bunch of people moving around in the Co. I feel sorry for all you people who keep hanging on to false hope that your little corner of the world will change. Wake Up! The grass is greener on the other side. And the taxes are lower. A the schools are better. And people are nicer. "

Turbines Kill Growth wrote on Aug 23, 2007 2:57 PM:

" May as well save your breath if you plan on allowing thousands of wind turbines into the county which will kill any future growth and drive people away from the county. "
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