Mike Seabaugh, a member of the Workforce Investment Board, told the Bootheel Regional Planning and Development Commission (BRPC) that Southeast Missouri has lost 2,400 manufacturing jobs in recent years and he was helping coordinate an effort to combat this problem. His comments came at the regular meeting of the Commission held June 19.

Seabaugh said that the emphasis of workforce training is shifting from training people who are unemployed or underemployed, to trying to keep important jobs that are already in the Bootheel. He is the business resource coordinator for the Business Resource Network which serves 13 area counties. These counties make up both the Bootheel Planning and Development Commission and the Southeast Missouri Planning and Development Commission.

"Our real customer is business," Seabaugh said, "The trainee is our product."

He said job losses in the area amounted to roughly 3,000 because of all those indirectly effected when a plant closes its doors. That is why the Division of Workforce Development is developing resources to reduce the loss of manufacturing jobs, he told the group. He added that community leaders should be looking at, not only keeping their industries, but providing them with information to help them expand..

Seabaugh told commissioners about the Business Survey System. The system was bought by Ameren AE, but the Workforce Investment Board has contracted with Ameren AE to use the system to help communities stop the loss of business and industry that has been occurring. It is called the Business Retention and Expansion Program. In this program, the retention coordinator "assembles and leads a team of community experts who target at-risk companies, develop strategies for layoff intervention and leverage resources to save jobs."

Seabaugh said the program requires face-to-face interviews between community members and industry. The information gained from these interviews is then entered into the data base and the results are shared with industry officials and business owners.

"I am working with five communities to do that," Seabaugh said, "all using volunteers."

The five communities are Dexter, Caruthersville, Jackson, Cape Girardeau and Sikeston. He noted that Cape and Sikeston were just coming into the program. He admitted that these were the bigger cities in the Bootheel, but urged commission members to recruit other communities into the process.

Rick Murray, Malden city administrator, commented, "Some of us have used this service, and it works."

BRPC Executive Director Dave Duke asked whether Dexter had completed any of the interviews.

Janet Coleman, executive director of the Dexter Chamber of Commerce, said the city was trying to target their industries and put together a program. Coleman said she was the team leader, and would conduct the interview while another member helped with the paperwork. She said initially they had hoped to form two-person teams made up of Chamber board members, but they found that considerable training was needed to conduct these interviews.

Coleman said she was taking some "webinars" on the subject and they were very helpful.

Coleman told the group that one interview had been completed with one of the larger employees in Dexter, but she was still working on entering the data into the system.

Seabaugh said the program was designed to utilize local people because, "Business is a lot more responsive to people they know on a social level, instead of people like me."

Board member Jerry Corder told Seabaugh, "Most business owners that are hurting will not come to you and tell you they have a problem."

Coleman responded that the survey does not ask about whether an industry or business has a problem. Seabaugh emphasized that no questions are asked about income, profitability or any other personal data.

He concluded by urging board members to talk to their communities and become involved in trying to find a way to keep the doors of industry open in Southeast Missouri.

Other board action

Willard Adams, regional planner with BRPC and secretary of the Bootheel Solid Waste Management District, told the board that the Department of Natural Resources Waste Tire Unit, had committed funds to the disposal of old tires in New Madrid and Pemiscot Counties. He said the tire cleanup in New Madrid County had been completed at a cost of $30,000 which was paid for by a grant.

Adams said 17 truckloads of tires weighing 300 tons had been disposed of in New Madrid County. He said 11,058 were tractor tires and 7806 were tires 16" and under. He noted that these were farming areas and tires had become a problem. He said some of the tires picked up in this program came from smaller communities in neighboring counties, but that was okay.

He added, "We're going to do the same in Pemiscot County."

The board voted unanimously to appoint Jerry Corder to the Tourism Committee. Duke said former Tourism Chairman Gary Capps was resigning due to health problems.

Duke offered the following information to board members:

* The board has entered into a partnership with the Census Bureau to help with the 2010 census. BRPC will provide some training space for the Census Bureau and they will provide BRPC with some computer software.

* BRPC will be running a public service announcement on the dangers of drunk driving. The ad will be running on radio station 92.9.

* The Missouri Department of Transportation will begin work on a stretch of Highway 67 north of Poplar Bluff that will include the 160 and 167 intersection. He said this was the only highway project in the Bootheel to receive funding from Amendment 3 revenues.

* Digital aerial photographs are available from BRPC. These maps are detailed and can be blown up to see individual buildings.

* The University of Missouri and other agencies are working on a contract to identify tier 1 structures in the six counties that make up BRPC. The project is to be funded by the U.S. Geological Service.

* Legislation giving counties the authority to implement planning and zoning laws failed to pass this past session of the Missouri Legislature. Duke said the House approved it, but it died in the Senate. The proposal is backed by the Missouri Association of Councils of Government.