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GoEDC outlines workforce, housing and childcare priorities as city seeks talent
Summary
Greater Oshkosh EDC reviewed a closing strategic plan and previewed a five-year plan emphasizing business retention, workforce development, housing and childcare. The organization highlighted recent outcomes including 146 new childcare spots and loan funds that leveraged private investment.
Trisha Rathmearl, representing Greater Oshkosh EDC, told the Oshkosh Common Council that the agency is wrapping up a strategic plan and preparing a five-year plan focused on business retention, workforce development, housing and competitive markets.
Rathmearl said GoEDC’s priorities remain retaining existing employers, supporting workforce development and addressing barriers such as childcare and transportation. She said the agency completed 24 in-depth business retention and expansion visits in 2023, had more than 400 business touch points, handled 15 custom projects, and responded to about 40 requests for information from potential new businesses.
The EDC presented recent program results: GoEDC-administered loan funds have dispersed about $2,100,000 in gap financing since 2015, which Rathmearl said catalyzed roughly $11,000,000 in additional capital investment. She also said GoEDC’s work has generated more than 1,000 new jobs and retained over 2,000 jobs, producing an estimated $375,375,000 in net capital investment for the area.
On childcare, Rathmearl said a state Dream Up grant, deployed in partnership with local nonprofits, created 146 new childcare spots across roughly 18 providers in Oshkosh. She described the childcare shortage as a significant barrier to workforce participation.
Council members pressed on specific sites and tools. Council member Flom asked about the Aviation Business Park, which he said is the city’s poorest-performing TIF district. Rathmearl said GoEDC has continued site outreach and worked with city staff and site selectors; she reported a small number of leads but no confirmed buyers and said city zoning and county processes limit some options. She said GoEDC has recommended exhausting aviation-oriented outreach before proposing rezoning for other uses.
Council member Stevenson emphasized housing as a top constraint, noting the council’s concern about a 2.7% local unemployment rate and the need to attract and retain workers. Rathmearl said matching housing types to workforce needs is central to the EDC’s next plan.
Rathmearl said GoEDC will move from three-year plans to a five-year strategic plan and is refining a draft that will emphasize agility to respond to changes in talent, technology and markets.
Rathmearl and council members cited partnerships with Fox Valley Technical College, the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh and local nonprofit funders on entrepreneurial and childcare initiatives.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation.
