Letter: SRDC offers multiple benefits to region

Talk about it

As I read Commissioner Luke Johnson’s letter to the editor Wednesday, a whirlwind of responses formed in my mind.

At first, I thought I should respond to each point Commissioner Johnson attempted to make with the actual and accurate information. Then, I thought, maybe I should just write about the 8-to-1 return on investment that the SRDC provides to the region, where we bring in $8 of other public dollars (state and federal) for every $1 of local tax dollar investment.

I then thought, well, maybe I should mention the millions of dollars in private investment the SRDC leverages every year through its Revolving Loan Fund. Or, I could write about the $740,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration that went to the City of Pipestone for the Ellison Meats project — a grant written and administered by the SRDC. Or, I could refer the commissioner to one of the thousands of seniors assisted last year alone by the Senior Linkage Line or the Client Service Center programs at the RDC.

In the end, I decided I should just encourage the public to come to our public hearing today at 2:30 p.m. at Key Largo on Lake Shetek and hear for themselves the benefits that the Southwest Regional Development Commission provides for the region. I am sure that if the public would come and hear the details of our budget and programming, they would feel as positive about the work that the SRDC does as I do.

Tags: opinion, srdc, southwest, regional, development, commission