Wednesday Rep. Russ Carnahan met with leaders in labor, education, commerce, development and county and local government at his Crystal City office to discuss economic development in Jefferson County.  He spoke about current, past and upcoming legislation, national, regional and local strategies, and asked for help prioritizing his action plan.  The congressman opened the meeting with some grim economic indicators like the 9.7% unemployment rate, distributed his recently updated economic plan, "A Regional Approach to Job Growth,"  and he offered optimism.

     "I think there's a really deep sense in our country that when people are in tough times, we pull together, we put our differences aside and try to reach our goals for our families and our communities," Carnahan said.  " If you think about it, our country has been through a lot of tough times, the Great Depression, world wars, you name it, and we rise to the challenge."

     The economic plan, which Carnahan released on February 16 as a 33-page document has now grown to 41 pages and it includes notes about recent developments and new legislation that affects the St. Louis area economy.  Amongst these are construction of the Mississippi Bridge north of Downtown St. Louis which began in March, the widening of Interstate 55 south of Highway M in Jefferson County, and a Chinese Airlines feasibility study of St. Louis as a potential hub for international trade.  

     " We don't intend this to ever be a complete document," Carnahan said.  "It's always going to be a work in progress.  I think we've identified several key areas that are important for our strategic growth going forward, for growing jobs, taking advantage of some of those assets."

     Jefferson County Labor Club President Bart Velasco asked the congressman to focus on the Jefferson County Port Authority.

     "We've got a study coming up right now that's going to cost us about $650,000 and we have a potential to put 6,700 people to work in this county," Velasco said.  " Right now, and you're familiar with the construction industry, our people have been out of work for 16 - 18 months.  They've lost their houses and some have lost their families because of divorces, and this is one of the worst times we've seen since the Depression."

     Velasco believes that developing Jefferson County's port holds the best potential for job creation in the area.

     "There's not a lot of work that goes into a bridge except for a couple of carpenters  and some iron workers, and for those people it's going to be great, but I think for all of the people that are out there looking for hope, it's going to take more than a bridge," he said.

     Others echoed Velasco's aim to prioritize the port.  County Executive Chuck Banks said that he had recently participated in a seminar identifying regional priorities such as maintenance of the existing infrastructure, preservation of existing infrastructure and building sustainable neighborhoods.

     "When we left, their top three priorities were economic development, economic development and economic development," Banks said.  "Our port development down in Festus, we need to connect the interstate highway so we can move those goods both to and from the port without having to go through the 270 nightmare."

     Superintendent of Northwest R-1 Schools Dr. Paul Ziegler asked the congressman what the local region could do to acquire federal assistance.

     " Is there an overt action beyond the small things that we're all engaged in that we can position ourselves better?" Ziegler asked.

     "Obviously we need to identify some of the large regional assets in your community," Carnahan said.  "To really dig down into a more detailed county-wide strategy, in terms of how to do that, I know our county officials and mayors and school leaders that have been a part of those kind of conversations to help us identify local strategies that fit in with the region and fit in with some of these national programs so we can fight to get them included."  

     During the meeting Carnahan listed a number of regional assets.  His favorite, he said, is that the St. Louis region has more PhD Scientists than any other city in America.  

     "We've got this great science and research infrastructure and we've got the potential to be the Saudi Arabia of algae based fuels," Carnahan said.  "The Danforth Plant Science Center got a $45 million grant.  They are the lead institution in a nation-wide coalition to continue this research.  We have two of the most prominent companies that are behind this.  Enterprise Rent-a-Car has the biggest fleet of autos in the world and they put in $25 million.  They're looking for the ability to get algae based fuel for vehicles.  Then Boeing, they've done a lot of research and in fact, test flights of algae based jet fuel.  They have out-performed regular jet fuel.  I think it's one of the biggest things going on in our region that nobody knows about."

     His thoughts reflected those of Jefferson County Central Committee Committeeman Wayne Stanley.

     "I think that's one of the biggest problems in Jefferson County is a lot of people don't know the good things that go on," Stanley said.

     Stanley would like to see better broadband access in the rural parts of Jefferson County.

     "A lot of your congressional district is rural," Stanley said.  "We have an awful lot of small businesses in rural areas.  I think it really hinders our small business people in these rural areas."

     Stanley also expressed concern for the disadvantage lack of broadband access creates for children in rural areas.

     "I think it's vital for our economic development, especially in rural areas," Carnahan said.  "You know we provided a big chunk of money in the Recovery Act for expansion of broadband services across the country."

     Carnahan expressed dissatisfaction for how Missouri has used its money to expand broadband access.

     "We didn't dictate exactly how it could be used," Carnahan said.  "It was set up to be grants to state government that would implement expansion of broadband.  So Missouri got a grant and it has been rolled out, not very well.  I think it's important to work with the state officials, and we'll certainly work with you."

     Carnahan added that broadband access is a national issue.

     "I'm embarrassed to tell you, but do you know where the United States of America ranks compared to other countries in broadband access?" he asked.  "It's somewhere between 25 and 30."

     Carnahan spoke about the role of broadband in job creation and global competitiveness.

     "The other piece of that I mention because of its ample success, we've all heard about the big companies outsourcing their call centers to India," Carnahan said.  "Well there are some companies that are specializing in what they're calling 'in-sourcing.'   They put some of these call centers in little, small towns in America and it's cheaper, they're more efficient, they're more effective and they're creating those jobs here instead of having to do it overseas."

     While the meeting focused closely on the port study, broadband, and road infrastructure to boost the economy, those present also touched on education, use of energy savings to green-retrofit buildings, the challenges of cleaning up groundwater contamination at the Hematite Westinghouse facility, tourism, historical preservation, and ways to retain customers for Jefferson County small businesses.

     "I think this is really the challenge for us all, to continue to grow out of this economic hole that we have found ourselves in," Carnahan said in closing.  "I think we're headed in the right direction, but we're not out of the hole yet."