Local business owners gathered at Cook County Higher Education on March 28 to talk about the expansion of the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce into the Cook County Chamber of Commerce. Those spearheading the change hope that all businesses throughout the county will join the new chamber since more can be done to improve the local economy if more people work together. (L-R) Higher Ed Business Training Coordinator Jim Boyd, Lutsen Resort owner Scott Harrison, Lutsen Mountains co-owner Charles Skinner, and Voyageur Canoe Outfitters owner Mike Prom.
Pooling resources and pulling together toward a common goal can be very productive. That is the thinking behind the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce opening its membership to the entire county and becoming the Cook County Chamber of Commerce.
This was the focus of a Business Networking Luncheon at Cook County Higher Education on March 28, 2012.
Higher Ed Business Training Coordinator Jim Boyd spoke first, saying he envisioned “a full community working together for a common cause.” He said he hoped the new initiative could break through some of the hearty skepticism that has been known to exist in Cook County, and he hoped the change would be beneficial to all.
Boyd said Lutsen Resort owner Scott Harrison and Lutsen Mountains co-owner Charles Skinner, the featured speakers who are working on this, wanted everyone to know that “this is not an attempt by the West End to take over the world!”
What is the number one activity people do when they visit Cook County? Harrison asked the audience. The answer? They watch the water.
Fifty percent of the taxable sales in Cook County are transacted in lodging, dining, and recreation establishments, Harrison said, by far the highest in the state. This is even higher if incidental spending, such as things people buy in grocery stores, gas stations, gift shops, and pharmacies, are included.
Harrison said the county’s economy experienced “very healthy growth” in the 1990s, but since then, the amount of money coming in has not grown with the rate of inflation. “This economy is at risk,” he said. “Make no mistake about it.”
Harrison reviewed efforts to improve the area and the economy, such as the creation of Superior National at Lutsen Golf Course, the Cook County Visitors Bureau, the Poplar River Management Board, and the Gitchi Gami Trail Association. Business groups have spent a lot of time trying to get the county board and the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) to understand the economic challenges, he said. A lot of research was conducted. Harrison said one group proposed a business plan for the golf course, but the county ended up hiring a golf consultant who came up with a similar plan. “We’re doing everything we can think of,” he said.
Economic challenges listed on a PowerPoint presentation included slow or no growth in business revenues and wages, high seasonal unemployment, and weak cash flow leaving little money for capital improvements. For example, Harrison said, Lutsen Mountains would like to invest in faster ski lifts but cannot afford the $4 million investment. Some of the local businesses’ winter competition, such as Giants Ridge, is publicly owned, he said, and they have “deep pockets.”
“We’re not drawing enough new people into the community,” Harrison said, adding that Cook County young people tend to move out of the county and not come back.
Jim Boyd concurred, saying that 2010 U.S. Census data on Cook County showed that “young people are leaving and old people are taking their place. That’s not sustainable! … We can’t just keep getting as gray and bald as we’re getting.”
Arrowhead Outdoor and Almost Home Appliances owner Kim Linnell was asked what he thought of the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce becoming a countywide entity. He said he has been a Grand Marais Chamber member for six years, and in that time, they have seen local business decline and have lost members. They are very interested in expanding to include the whole county, he said.
Grand Marais Hotel Company owner Barrney Peet said he saw the county go through tremendous growth in the 1980s. A lot of new things such as Aspen Lodge and Best Western were constructed during that time, he said, but there came a point when the community didn’t want to see any more growth. He said he hopes today’s community does. A good business climate supports the school, the hospital, and the arts, he said. It’s “pretty clear” that other industries are not going to be allowed here because of environmental constraints, he said. Tourism—with the woods and the water—is all we have left.
Unless the community buys into new growth, said EDA Director Matt Geretschlaeger, it won’t happen.
Peet said he hoped having broadband in place would attract people to come here to work and enjoy the nature around us. He thanked the business leaders for all the work they have done on improving the local economy. “I’m so glad to see people be re-energized,” he said.
Charles Skinner spoke after Scott Harrison. The dollars coming into the community are not going to be enough to continue to support the businesses that are already here, he said. Competing with more populated areas is hard, and the county is going to have to dig itself out of an economic hole.
Skinner said they are hoping the new chamber, which will focus on helping businesses throughout the county and will have representation from all business sectors, can generate enough dues to pay for a half-time director. They are intending to create a 501(c)(6), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of business. He said one thing they would do is look for funding sources such as grants that could help build local business and industry. A chamber of commerce tends to have a lot of credibility with the legislature, he added.
Scott Harrison said they are talking about the possibility of charging dues of $1 for each $1,000 of business income. Voyageur Canoe Outfitter owner Mike Prom said he thinks the new chamber would be of most benefit to the smallest businesses because they could be included in marketing through the chamber that they couldn’t do themselves.
Jim Boyd addressed the outcome of his recent initiative to work with University of Minnesota Extension on doing a “Business Expansion and Retention” project in Cook County. He said that idea was dropped when Scott Harrison strongly recommended hiring consultant Randy Lasky of The Northspan Group in Duluth because Harrison thought Lasky could provide a product that would be more beneficial to Cook County.
Boyd went to various boards throughout the county when he was promoting the Extension project. “What I think has been missing in the planning piece,” he said, “is the listening.” Toward that end, the committee organizing the new chamber plans to hold a community meeting in May to inform and get input from the public. They plan to meet with public officials in April to discuss their ideas.
Cook County Chamber of Commerce
Initiators of the chamber, currently being formulated as an expansion of the Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce, have proposed the following mission statement:
The mission of the Cook County Chamber of Commerce is to be the representative voice of county for-profit and non-profit businesses in working to improve the county economy and to address pressing county socioeconomic issues.
Its goals would include, in part:
. knitting the Cook County business community
together;
. strengthening existing businesses and diversifying the
economy in sustainable ways that increase full-time yearround jobs for county residents;
. building relationships from here to Washington, D.C.
that advance the chamber’s countywide economic
strategy;
. keeping local governmental units informed;
. supporting candidates for public office who will be
helpful in furthering the local economy;
. using the media to keep the public informed;
. being a positive force in improving the quality of life
for current and future residents of Cook County.
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