Economic Development Council outlines five-year blueprint, urges site marketing, workforce and housing steps

Scott Drocknick, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of St. Charles County, presented the EDC’s five‑year economic development blueprint at the St. Charles County Council meeting, highlighting recent business wins and a set of recommendations to keep local growth competitive.

The plan, produced with a consultant paid in part by a matching Economic Development Administration grant, credited a list of attraction and retention projects last year—named examples included General Mills in St. Charles, Sink Thermal in O’Fallon, Clement Ford in the unincorporated county and CIS Leasing in Weldon Spring—and cited “about $50,000,000 or more” in private investment and “several hundred” jobs tied to those efforts. The EDC also reported 12 loans and “almost $20,000,000 in total investment” from those loans, a 99% incubator occupancy rate, 33 startup graduations and more than 500 hours of counseling provided to local small businesses.

Why it matters: County leaders said the blueprint is intended…