Partnerships, An Important Part of Getting Projects Completed
In economic development today even more so than in the past there is an important trend of partners coming together, bringing something of value and getting things done. Who are these partners? Often good partnerships involve public and private parties with each contributing resources either financial, land, management, expertise etc. We have seen these arrangements work in developing community scale wind farms, the renovation of a lake for a community and the construction of a recreational facility and many others.
In the case of the community wind farm the landowner was an Indian Tribe and the other significant partner is a construction contractor who will finance, build, and operate the project. The Indian Tribe brings a fully developed project, sovereignty, and an additional incentive for renewable energy produced on Tribal lands. The Tribe will benefit from land rent and other revenue streams for the life fo the project. The contractor in addition to a significant building project will also be engaged in the maintenance of the project for years to come.
The lake renovation involves a private development group which owns land with a small lake adjacent to a Village of 600 residents. The renovation will make a nice amenity to the community with fishing, trails, wildlife habitat as well as a recreational destination. The governmental entity will take ownership once the project is complete in order to insure that it will be maintained over the long term. The deal came together as a result of an inter-local agreement between the development group, Village, and the County which shared in the rebuilding of a road which served as the face of the earthen dam structure.
These types of arrangement truly define the concept of “synergy” where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words each of these entities working individually would likely not have been able to accomplish the project and by working together it gets done faster and more efficiently.
« Public Meetings: Making a Case and Achieving Your Objectives with Elected Officials: | Home | Mission »
Comments are closed.