Marion County Economic Development held public meetings in Pella and Knoxville this week to highlight a project to develop long term economic sustainability plans.

Director Carla Eysink says the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has received funding from the US EDA department to work on workforce attraction and training, business mix, and tourism.

“We are excited to bring such expertise to the area to help us plan for the future in these uncertain economic times,” expressed Carla Eysink, MCDC Director. “Planning is key to developing a future that will position Marion County for growth and prosperity. Our past efforts with the Roger Brooks Assessment, Marion County Housing Study and Marion County Childcare Study have led to great results. We expect this will help us connect efforts and build a common playbook for economic development strategies.”

Because of the grant funding, the project is being done at no cost to Marion County directly.