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The official newsletter of the
Enid Regional Development Alliance www.growenid.com |
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New Staff
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ERDA is happy to welcome the newest member to our team, Debbie Hand. Debbie is the new Executive Assistant, and will be the person who coordinates our events and welcomes our clients. We know that you will enjoy working with her as much as we do!
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Legislative Golf Tournament
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Legislative Golf Tournament Oakwood Country Club September 23, 2013
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Greetings!
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A CEO of an out of state company come to Enid a few weeks ago for a site visit, and he made a statement that has stuck with me.
I shared with him all of the statistics about our growth and introduced him to many of our community leaders who shared anecdotal stories about our potential for more growth in the decades to come. At the end of the day, as I typically do on these types of visits, I asked him what his observation was of Enid. He said he thought Enid was in the process of going from being a small town to a big city and we were experiencing many of the growing pains that comes with that transition. He mentioned things like our need for water which is being addressed through the Koch project and the City's water analysis, the need for housing which is being addressed through our recently released housing study, and our need for additional retail which the community is aggressively pursuing. Another indication of growth he mentioned was that most people in town didn't realize we were going through a transition. You see, when a town becomes a city, you can have two places to buy the same product because you have enough of a market to support both. When you become a city you can make large public investments in order to spur additional private investment, because you have budgets that are big enough to afford it and your economy is diverse enough that you don't have to rely solely on one industry to survive and grow.
I hope that everyone reads the Enid Housing Study that was just recently released by the Community Development Strategies Group out of Houston. It is a fascinating snapshot of not only where Enid is right now, but where we are heading. It statistically backs up what most of us are seeing in our parking lots and grocery store lines. Enid has significant growth in our younger populations which is turning into high growth schools. We are also seeing growth in the 60-80 year age group which may be the people retiring in NW Oklahoma and moving closer to their doctors. We have seen a sharp growth in our educational level attained in the past decade and our median household income is rising as well. CDS did a great job of presenting this information in the report. You can easily download the report here.
Enid is definitely on the rise and our best days are ahead of us. Sometimes it takes a CEO from another state to come here and tell us before we believe it.
Brent Kisling
Executive Director
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 The ribbon was cut and the speeches were made at the official open house for Enid High School's new University Center. Student Council members, pom squad members, cheerleaders and the band helped celebrate the day. EHS graduate Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and Superintendent Shawn Hime gave speeches at the open house. Paige Christy, a sophomore from Waukomis who has been a student at Enid Public Schools most of her school years, takes advanced placement biology and world human geography at UC during second and third hours. "You don't really apply for classes in the University Center," Paige said. "If you are on a college-bound schedule, if you've taken AP and enriched classes before, it will ask you if you want to take these classes." Read More...
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Xpress Wellness to Build Urgent Care Medical Center
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 Xpress Wellness announced plans to build a state-of-the art urgent care medical center in Enid, Oklahoma. The new urgent care medical center will be located at 220 S. Van Buren and begin seeing patients in January 2014. Enid is the second location announced this month. Elk City location was announced earlier. Henson Construction Company will build both facilities and plans to start construction by the end of August. Read More... |
Broadway Tower Gives a Sneak Peek
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The staff of the new and renovated Broadway Tower Hotel had a sort of vivid anxiety before the First Friday Sneak Peek. With about 24 hours before the first real expo at the new downtown hotel, owner Johnny Peart and his employees were working to complete the final touches. First Friday gave Enid the first look of what Peart's dream. Visitors toured a model suite, replete with elegant design touches that signify, in Peart's words, "old-time Enid." Read More...
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Benson to retire at end of 2014
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 City Manager Eric Benson will retire at the end of next year, concluding an eight-year run as Enid's top public employee. He told his staff of his intention to retire Wednesday, the morning after Enid City Commission conducted a personnel evaluation in executive session Tuesday night. In the meantime, Benson said there still are things to do. "I didn't come here to build a resume for another job," he said. "Enid has seen many successes during his time as our city manager," Mayor Bill Shewey said in a news release Wednesday. "Enid has become one of the most fiscally sound cities in Oklahoma. His vision and management capability have been an asset to our city. "We are extremely grateful for his dedication and involvement in making Enid a great place to live." Shewey said working with Benson has been a pleasure, and he looks forward to working with him for the next 17 months. "The city commission appreciates the opportunity to have nearly 17 months to recruit and hire a suitable replacement, and thanks (to) Mr. Benson for his candid disclosure of his long-term plans," Shewey said in the news release. Read More...
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City of Enid Streamlines Approval Process for Developers
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With the goal of boosting and streamlining development, the city of Enid plans to drastically change the way it approves home and business projects. One of the significant alterations will let city  employees approve site plans, rather than have developers wait until the next Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting. The current policy requires the MAPC to publicly consider and vote on whether to approve a site plan. The proposed Site Plan Review Committee, said City Manager Eric Benson, will be made up of staff from various departments. "We're not going to hold you hostage to an MAPC meeting once a month," Benson told a gathering of local developers Tuesday. "You're not going to have to wait for a calendar event to guide your developmental challenges." Assistant City Planner Karla Ruther noted state law does not require the city to post or notify the public about site plans. "We're not required to post to the site, and we're not required to have that in front of the planning commission," she said. "Currently, our ordinance states that we do." Read More...
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Taxable Sales in Enid Rise
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 Retail sales increased again in Enid in June and July, based on August sales tax distributions to cities and towns from Oklahoma Tax Commission. The current figures represent local taxreceipts from spending in late-June and early-July. Net taxable sales in Enid during that period were up $2,328,228 compared to the same period in 2012. According to OTC figures, net taxable sales in Enid during the period were 3.2 percentabove sales during the same period in 2012, continuing strong results for the past couple of years. Enid received $2,619,938 from OTC, an increase of $81,488 from last year's receipts. Read more...
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Demand for housing in Enid, OK, isn't sparking new construction
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The national housing crash, energy company Continental Resources' move to Oklahoma City, and the death of a few builders all but stopped home construction in Enid. Now tight credit and lack of investors is making it hard to get it started up again, even with a study showing great demand. Enid housing is stuck. Demand is through the roof, but almost no builders are building. "It
 was sort of a perfect storm," said developer-builder David Ritchie, one of the few left standing after the double whammy of the 2007-2009 national housing crash and March 2011 announcement of Continental Resources' pending move from downtown Enid to downtown Oklahoma City. Continental didn't move until 2012, but the announcement alone was enough to send builders into retreat. "With the national economy the way it was, and Continental's announcement, the perception of a lot of people in the Enid area was that we were really heading into a downturn. The exact opposite actually happened," Ritchie said. Read more... |
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Enid Young Professionals - 10 Under 40 Honored
|  Several residents were honored Thursday as Enid Young Profession-als' 10 Under 40 who have made outstanding contributions to the community. Those recognized were: Whitney Box, city of Enid; Aaron Brownlee, Wymer Brownlee; Rynn Day, Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce; Casey Felix, Central National Bank; Catherine Gann, Integris Bass Baptist Health Center; Cindy Griesel, InterBank; Will Gungoll, Edward Jones Investments; Melissa Jenlink, Autry Technology Center; Cory Moore, Security National Bank; and Ashley Olivo, St. Mary's Regional Medical Center. After the presentation, Day said she was honored by the award. "We are fairly new to Enid, and to be recognized ... I just wanted to jump into the community, and Enid opened its arms and gave me plenty of opportunities," she said. Jenlink also said the award was an honor. Read more... |
| Enid gets 3 New Doctors |
Three physicians associated with Integris Bass Baptist Health Center have established practices in Enid. Two are family practitioners and one practices internal medicine. Dr. Jon Mills Jr., D.O. A family physician who completed his residency at Integris Northwest Family Medicine Residency Program, Mills will remain in Enid to open shop on a permanent basis. Mills is seeing patients at his office in the Medical Plaza building, 620 S. Madison. Read more...
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| Number of EPS Students Trending Upward | |
 By the start of the school year next week, Enid Public Schools' student population will have risen bymore than 1,100 students in the past six years, and Superintendent Shawn Hime expects that trend to continue. In 2008, the student population totaled 6,405, and at the end of last year, the number of students was 7,208. This year, enrollment projections show an increase of 250-300 students. Hime said about 11 percent of the increased enrollment is non-English speaking students. That percentage has remained steady, he said. The primary non-English speaking languages in Enid are Spanish and Marshallese. He said the Marshallese is difficult because it is hard to find interpreters. Read more... |
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Expanded operations: ERDA OKs cash to create oil field jobs
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A Houston-based oil field services business will receive economic development funds to consolidate and expand its operations in Enid. Select Energy Services won approval Thursday to buy 25 acres of industrial park land at a discount. Select also will be paid $3,000 for each new job it creates after combining its three existing Enid sites into the new location east of the city. In all, Enid Regional Development Alliance and Garfield County Industrial Authority is ceding $300,000 worth of incentives to Select Energy. Read more...
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