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Economic development director outlines tourism partnerships, transportation concerns and business loan activity
Summary
Janet McGrague presented the January economic development monthly report, highlighting regional tourism partnerships (including the Kansas City Area Development Council and Northeast Kansas tourism group), an upcoming travel‑writer visit, workforce and senior transit concerns, and a pending revolving loan proposal.
Janet McGrague presented the Miami County economic development monthly report to the Board of County Commissioners, outlining marketing and business‑attraction work, regional partnerships and workforce and transportation concerns.
McGrague said Miami County is “a member of the northeast Kansas tourism group,” a regional partnership that coordinates social‑media marketing, joint events and familiarization tours for visiting writers and tourism influencers. She said the county is working with regional partners on outreach tied to a worldwide travel‑blogger conference in October and with the state and Visit Wichita on pre‑ and post‑event familiarization tours that could bring writers and bloggers through Miami County.
McGrague also described ongoing cooperation with the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). She said KCADC provides national and international marketing leads, data and a site‑and‑building inventory; the county contributes to maintaining that database because it saves staffing time and improves visibility for locally available sites.
On transportation, McGrague said roundtables last year raised senior transit and workforce‑commute issues: medical providers reported patients lacking reliable transport from hospital to home, and the county is convening coordinating councils and potential funders, including the Patterson Family Foundation and the Miami County Community Foundation, to explore solutions.
She reported marketing work including updated brochures for retail and business recruitment, an upcoming tourism network dinner with about 60 registrants, and plans to host a travel writer over Memorial Day weekend; McGrague said that writer already committed to a fall feature that will include at least one local business.
McGrague said the county’s revolving e‑community loan program will consider an applicant at the corporation meeting next week; the program typically projects one loan every 12–18 months.
Ending: Commissioners had follow‑up questions about KCADC services and local infrastructure for large‑site prospects; McGrague said infrastructure (power, sewer, zoning and road access) and site readiness are common constraints on large projects and sometimes disqualify otherwise viable leads. No formal action was recorded on the report.
