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Battle Creek Unlimited adviser lays out downtown 'food‑science' vision; economist says casino impact data will take two years
Summary
At the Aug. 20 Calhoun County commissioners meeting, Battle Creek Unlimited Senior Advisor Jim Hettinger presented a plan to build a food‑science industry community downtown, while Upjohn Institute economist George Erickcek said the casino baseline study will not yield usable impact data for about two years.
Jim Hettinger, Senior Advisor with Battle Creek Unlimited, presented the organization’s downtown transformation vision to the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 20, 2009, outlining plans to foster growth of a food‑science industry cluster in downtown Battle Creek.
Upjohn Institute Senior Regional Analyst and Economist George Erickcek followed with an update on a casino baseline study, advising county officials that it will take roughly two years before the study produces the data necessary to measure social and economic impacts from the casino opening.
Why this matters: county economic development strategies and local tax and service planning can be affected by shifts in downtown investment and by new regional economic activity tied to casinos. County officials heard the presentations as part of routine updates and took no formal action on either item.
Details: Hettinger framed the proposal around innovation and growth in the food sciences, describing the vision as an economic-development strategy intended to attract industry partners and related employment. Erickcek cautioned that rigorous impact measurement requires multi‑year data collection; he told the board that meaningful baseline findings will not be immediately available and that two years will be required before the analysis is ready.
No votes or budget decisions were recorded related to either presentation. The presentations were informational and will inform ongoing county and regional economic discussions.
