Fwd: Owensboro Announces Riverfront Grand Opening Schedule

OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR RIVERFRONT GRAND OPENING

The City of Owensboro invites the region to celebrate the new Owensboro riverfront with a grand opening celebration starting Thursday, August 23 and lasting through Saturday, August 25.  The tentative schedule is as follows:

Thursday, August 23

7:00 p.m. - Shelton Memorial Rededication Ceremony

Friday, August 24

6:00 p.m. - Launching of the Fountains (first public display of the interactive fountains in

    Smothers Park) to kick-off FA5

 

Saturday, August 25

8:00 a.m. - 11:00 am - Static display and open house at the airport

11:00 a.m. - Grand opening of the playground and spray park

1:00 p.m. - Owensboro Air Show (viewing locations at Smothers Park and English Park)

 Mayor Ron Payne commented, "The City of Owensboro has been working to restore our glorious riverfront, and now we're finally ready to celebrate with the nation."  Please visit http://www.owensboro.org and click on the 2012 Riverfront Grand Opening Schedule button for more information.

 For more information about downtown and riverfront projects go to www.owensboro.org.

Owensboro Receives Another Top 100 National Ranking

The city of Owensboro has received a ranking of 58 out of 100 from Forbes Top 100 Small Best Places for Business and Careers. Forbes’ ranking of Best Places for Business and Careers looks at the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. They consider metrics relating to job growth, costs, income growth, educational attainment and projected economic growth as well as quality of life issues like crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities and net migration patterns and the number of highly ranked colleges in an area.

Mayor Ron Payne commented, “This is outstanding news and indicative of the investment and progress being made within our city and especially downtown. Our citizens, infrastructure, amenities and culture are shining examples of what makes this a great community in which to live.”

Gov. Beshear Announces Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline to Expand Headquarters Footprint in Owensboro, Add up to 20 New Jobs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2012) – Governor Steve Beshear today announced Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline will expand its presence in Owensboro, constructing a second facility for its headquarters expansion. The nearly $5.3 million project will help create up to 20 new jobs over the next few years.

"The expansion of Southern Star's headquarters operation in Owensboro is great news," Gov. Beshear said. "Not only does it add up to 20 new jobs and an almost $5.3 million investment in the community, but it also enhances Kentucky's reputation as an ideal place for a corporate headquarters. The Commonwealth is pleased to have played a role in helping make this growth possible and look forward to Southern Star's long-term success."

Southern Star is an interstate natural gas transmission and storage system spanning approximately 6,000 miles and serves customers in seven states. The Owensboro headquarters, located at 4700 Highway 56, currently employs 167 Kentuckians full-time. The expansion project, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will include additional office space, training and conference facilities and records storage in eastern Daviess County.

"The incentives provided by the Commonwealth help ensure we can continue to grow here," said Jerry Morris, president and chief executive officer for Southern Star. "We've found Owensboro to be a good location for our corporate headquarters. This community provides a great quality of life for our employees. From Owensboro, we are able to provide effective support to our Midwest-based customers and employees. We're proud to provide so many professional-level positions for the community and excited about adding to those numbers."

To encourage the investment in Owensboro, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $275,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

KEDFA also approved Southern Star for tax benefits up to $100,000 through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development, and electronic processing equipment.

"Southern Star's presence in Owensboro is appreciated and significant," said Sen. Joe Bowen, of Owensboro. "The fact that they plan to invest more than $5 million and provide employment shows a commitment to our community."

"Southern Star has been a great asset to our community, so I'm certainly happy to see it decide to expand its headquarters," said Rep. Tommy Thompson, of Owensboro. "These are exactly the type of jobs the General Assembly and Gov. Beshear envisioned in 2009 when we revamped our economic development incentives – legislation I was proud to sponsor."

"Thank you Southern Star for your confidence in our community," said Daviess County Judge-Executive Al Mattingly. "This capital investment will create new good-paying jobs for our citizens, and the resulting increase in the tax base will help all concerned."

For more information on Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, visit www.sscgp.com.

Information on Kentucky's economic development efforts and programs is available at www.ThinkKentucky.com. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ThinkKentucky or follow on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ThinkKentucky.

A detailed community profile for Owensboro (Daviess County) can be viewed at http://thinkkentucky.com/EDIS/cmnty/index.aspx?cw=044.

Kentucky Unbridled Future: New State Economic Plan aligns well with Owensboro Stategy

I attended the unveiling of the Cabinet for Economic Development's "Kentucky Unbridled Future" economic development strategic plan yesterday in Frankfort.

Overall the plan, presented by Boyette Strategic Advisors, is very well done. The plan lines up really well with many of the initiatives that are being implemented currently in the Greater Owensboro region. For example, there is a significant emphasis on growing the entrepreneurial climate in the Commonwealth as well as creating strategies for existing companies, especially Second Stage firms, the tools they need to grow.

With budget cuts looming, the big unanswered question in the room is how much money will be available to insure that the Cabinet, which has faced significant budget cuts over the past few years, can effectively implement the aggressive recommendations.

The plan can be viewed at http://www.kentuckysunbridledfuture.com/

Facts about Interstate 67 as Owensboro's interstate

The new Interstate 67 Corridor is perhaps one of the most important and exciting opportunities for the Greater Owensboro region. I-67 is a top priority of the City of Owensboro, Daviess County Fiscal Court, Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp and Chamber of Commerce. These organizations will be working closely with the Interstate 67 Development Corporation and leadership in Spencer, Dubois, and Daviess counties in southern Indiana to make I-67 a reality.

The following are some key points about I-67:

• North-south interstate link between Indianapolis and Nashville, TN that will pass through Owensboro, Kentucky.
• I-67 uses mostly existing corridors from I-69 at Indianapolis and the Natcher Parkway to I-65 near Bowling Green, KY
• One major Greenfield section remains, 38 miles of US 231 from I-64 to I-69 in Dubois and Daviess counties in Indiana
• I-67 would use the underutilized Natcher Bridge to Kentucky near Owensboro as well as the existing Natcher Parkway and Owensboro By-Pass Extension to connect with I-65 in Bowling Green.
• I-67 would leverage investments in I-69 in southern Indiana and around Indianapolis.
• I-67 would leverage the recently completed US 231 corridor in Spencer County, Indiana. Funding would be used to upgrade and eliminate existing grade intersections.
• I-67 would provide a less congested route from Nashville to Indianapolis avoiding the delays on I-65 through Louisville.

The view a map of the Interstate 67 corridor, please visit: http://edc.owensboro.com/_documents/owensborointerstateflyer_final.pdf

Owensboro -Daviess County one step closer to Work Ready designation

The Work Ready Review Panel gave the Daviess County Work Ready application a favorable recommendation to the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (K-WIB) for certification as a Work Ready Community.

Community representatives, including Judge Executive Al Mattingly, Co-Chair Helen Mountjoy and EDC president Nick Brake made a presentation to the panel yesterday. The presentation was supported by representatives from the education, workforce, Chamber and business community.

The final hurdle will be consideration by the K-WIB for actual certification on February 16 in Frankfort.


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Angel investment tax credit bill will help Owensboro

This year, once again, legislation has been prefiled that would establish an angel investor tax credit program for individuals who invest in certain small businesses.

The Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. has supported the legislation in years past, and EDC officials are hoping the bill will gain traction this year. It could help Owensboro’s efforts to nurture and retain high tech and life sciences start-up companies that require a lot of capital on the front end, local EDC officials said.

“We’ve been supportive of this for several years,” said Madison Silvert, vice president for entrepreneurship and high tech development at the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. “It would provide incentives for qualified investors to invest in Kentucky start-up companies.”

The state incentives already are available for groups such as Lexington’s Blue Angels and Louisville’s Enterprise Angels and Louisville Angels.


This legislation, however, would provide the same incentives to individuals, and that is important for Owensboro and more rural areas of the state where there are no groups in place, Silvert said.

Generally, angel investors supply venture capital to companies that show high-growth prospects or fit well with their own business or are competing in the sector in which they made their mark.

In recent months, Daviess County showed up at No. 9 among 20 counties nationwide on web magazine BusinessInsider.com’s list of counties identified as potentially the next Silicon Valley.

Two areas the online magazine found in fleshing out the counties were broadband availability rates near 100 percent and unemployment rates beating their peers and the nation.

Silvert said recently that having a culture of entrepreneurial investment is a crucial next step for the Owensboro region in attracting and retaining high tech companies.

The EDC and its partners are providing some breaks for several high tech and life sciences companies within the framework of Emerging Ventures, an innovation center/business incubator and the office and lab space offered in the Centre for Business and Research at 1010 Allen St.

“What we hope people understand is that high tech and life sciences companies require large amounts of capital for start-up, but the jobs they create are high quality and high paying,” Silvert said. “And it’s cheaper to incentivize these companies at the start than to try to relocate a mature company.”

The legislation is important for Owensboro, said Nick Brake, the president of the Greater Owensboro EDC.

“We have a healthy interest in the high tech, biotech and food safety companies we have churning here, and this legislation could turn that interest into investment,” Brake said. “It’s a matter of legislators seeing this as a viable option.”

Brake said he thinks getting a bill passed for angel investor tax credits is a learning process to educate people about how it can help.

Rep. Arnold Simpson’s legislation is prefiled as BR322. If it is filed when the Kentucky General Assembly convenes and becomes law, it would direct the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority to establish the application process for small businesses to participate.Angel investors who qualified could tap into the Kentucky Investment Fund Act tax credits that would be capped at $40 million.Simpson is a Covington Democrat.

The KEDFA would have to maintain a website listing all businesses and investors and the tax credits awarded. The prefiled bill also would require the small businesses to provide an annual report, and it would allow for tax credit recapture under some circumstances.