Trenton and Grundy County was represented by around 50 individuals who attended the Great Northwest Missouri Day activities in Jefferson City on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
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Trenton and Grundy County was represented by around 50 individuals who attended the Great Northwest Missouri Day activities in Jefferson City on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Trenton Community Developer Sean Burge said the local group made up the largest contingency of those communities sending representatives from northwest Missouri to the event, which was held for the fourth year and included visits to legislators and department heads along with tours of the state capitol building and governor’s mansion.
North Central Missouri College provided its bus to transport the local contingency, which included 20 students from NCMC. After arriving in Jefferson City, visits were made to the House and Senate chambers and introductions of the community representatives were made before the day’s events began.
Burge noted that the Great Northwest Missouri Day focused on four key issues – Tax Increment Financing, Workforce Develop-ment, Incentive Reforms and Water/Wastewater Infrastructure Funding. Burge said the local group assigned specific individuals to be involved in each of the four categories.
“Each person was delegated a responsibility, which not only made it easier for us to get to those we needed to see, but it let those of us focus on our specific area of expertise,” Burge said. “It made sense to lean on the experts.”
Representatives from NCMC, for example, focused on Workforce Development as well as higher education issues while Trenton Municipal Utilities officials focused on the Water/Waste-water Infrastructure Funding. Burge and other city officials worked with TIF and Incentive Reforms.
The NCMC students who attended the event spent part of their day visiting with Third District State Rep. Jim Whorton, D-Trenton as well as State Sen. Charles Shields, R-St. Joseph. Their discussions centered on higher education concerns, including the cost of obtaining a college degree.
The group hosted a luncheon for legislators and the lobbyist for the Missouri Economic Development Council Ray McCarty, who also addressed the group on issues impacting the region such as TIF, capital improvements, business incentive development and eminent domain. Grundy Electric Cooperative served as sponsor of the luncheon.
Burge said that City Administrator Kerry Sampson and he were able to visit with representatives of the Missouri Department of Conservation concerning the shooting range being proposed for this area. While at the meeting, Burge said the city received a draft of the memorandum of understanding between the MDC and the city of Trenton, outlining responsibilities associated with the range. Burge said the city’s legal counsel will be reviewing the memorandum so that the process can continue in a timely manner.
City Administrator Kerry Sampson, Trenton Mayor Gary Hall, County Treasurer Colleen Kid and Burge got the chance to visit with Gov. Matt Blunt while they were in Jefferson City and were able to present him with an “official Trenton walking stick” that had been made by the mayor’s brother-in-law especially for Blunt. The walking stick contained several local, state and national symbols, including the U.S. Navy seal, which represents the branch of service of which Blunt remains a member.
A “regional fair” was held in the evening, with communities featuring what they have to offer at booths that lined the ballroom of the Capital Plaza Hotel. Over 500 persons attended the event, including Lt. Gov. Pete Kinder, 24 senators and over 100 House of Representative members. Aides from key legislative offices and executive branch offices and representatives from various state departments also attended. Citizens Bank and Trust served as sponsor of the band that played during the evening activities.
The event concluded on Wednesday morning with a breakfast for legislators, sponsored by Aquila. Several individuals attended this activity as well.
Burge said he was pleased with the event, having participated in it for the first time.
“As a newcomer to northwest Missouri, I have never in the past seen the impact like that the leadership of northwest Missouri made at this event,” Burge said. “It’s one of the few times that we (in northwest Missouri) can all get together to cooperate for the same things and make the type of impact I feel we did at this event.”