March 19, 2008 Newsletter

Table of Contents

Bellaire Road Construction Update

West 121st Street Extension Project Meeting

Act Now on Electricity Rates and Energy Bill

Securing Government Contracts

WIRE-Net Events

WIRE-Net can now take enrollments online!  Register today for these and other upcoming WIRE-Net events

WIRE-Net's Mission

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth. 

We provide expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees. 

WIRE-Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities.

WIRE-Net: 
Where Manufacturing Matters.

Bellaire Road Rehabilitation Springs Up in April

The City of Cleveland has contracted with Perk Construction to complete improvements to Bellaire Road between West 105th and West 117th Streets. Unfortunately, it will return one-way traffic westbound and detours for eastbound traffic during construction. Work will include roadway widening, new curbs, sidewalks, driveway aprons, and roadway surface. Traffic signals at Bosworth and West 117th Street will be synchronized to improve traffic flow. Work is due to be completed in September 2008. Check our website for a detailed traffic bulletin and detour map.

Public Meeting for West 121st Street Extension Project

Stakeholders along Elmwood Avenue, West 121st Street and Berea Road will hear updates on the City's plans to extend West 121st Street at a public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, 2008 from 8:15 to 9:15 AM. The meeting will be held at My Friend's Deli at 11616 Detroit Avenue. Representatives from City of Cleveland Economic Development Department will report on final plans for extending West 121st Street through the former American Funland property creating a connection with Berea Road and improving access to area industrial businesses.

The $2 million project-funded through federal, state, and local sources-is yet another testament to the strong community collaborations among City/County agencies, WIRE-Net, WEBCO, and others. Since 2002, the West 117th Street/Berea Road business district has benefited from over $53 million in public investments to upgrade area infrastructure. Projects including West 117th Street, Western Avenue, Berea Road, and a new RTA station at Madison all ensure this area remains a strong and vibrant business district.

For additional information on either of these infrastructure projects, contact Michael Hoag at 216.588.1440, ext 108.

Senate Bill 221 and Ohio's Wind Industry: A Time to Act

The Ohio House of Representatives has been holding hearings on Governor Strickland's comprehensive energy bill. The outcome of this process-and the eventual legislation that is passed-will have a huge impact your business and on Ohio's advanced energy industry. If you haven't done so already, now is the time to get involved in this debate. Here's why.

Ohio's regulated electricity markets will be fully de-regulated by the end of 2008, unless the State acts now. Ohio's investor-owned electric utilities are preparing for potentially significant price increases-rate hikes that could harm manufacturing in Ohio.

Governor Strickland and the Ohio Senate proposed a bill to re-regulate the electric utilities and give the Public Utilities Commission authority to continue to oversee rate requests. The Ohio Manufacturers Association and others are supporting this hybrid proposal due to the failure of a competitive wholesale electricity market to develop in Ohio.

This situation also creates an opportunity for Ohio to get in the race to grow the wind and alternative energy industry here. The future for the wind industry is very bright, with double-digit annual growth forecasted for years, sold-out supply chain, and as many as ten foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) looking to expand assembly operations in the U.S. Ohio, with its great universities, infrastructure, natural resources, and especially its manufacturing capabilities, is well-positioned to capitalize on this red-hot market and growth opportunity.
WIRE-Net's Board supports Senate Bill 221, but recognized a key missing element in the bill: an Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) that will require utilities to generate a gradually increasing portion of their electricity from renewable energy sources, starting now and building in the future. AEPS legislation has become law in at least 25 other states, including Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Texas-all of which have attracted new European wind turbine assembly plants. Where this has happened, industrial activity in support of these new factories has blossomed.

What's missing from Senate Bill 221, are interim milestones and an enforcement process that would mandate progress by the utilities along the way. Ohio cannot afford to wait until 2025 to see whether the utilities have complied with the AEPS targets. Benchmarks will assure that wind turbine orders to supply Ohio's energy needs are booked and deliveries occur starting immediately-in support of companies that are investing in our nation's energy future.

Now is the time to urge your representative to support an energy legislation that includes an AEPS with strong benchmarks. The message is simple: this is Ohio's moment. If we are to benefit from the broad international momentum for wind power and other advanced energies, we must begin creating our marketplace now. If we are to protect Ohio manufacturers from skyrocketing electric rates, a strengthened version of SB 221 must be enacted.

Contact your Ohio Senator and Representative now. We have provided a sample message below. Feel free to use it as is, or customize it to your situation.
If you have questions, or if you would like additional information, please contact WIRE-Net.

Dear Representative,

As the House of Representatives considers an energy policy for the State of Ohio, I urge you to be an energy leader! I am writing to you today to ask you to support Substitute Senate Bill 221. This bill is a wise and necessary effort to redirect Ohio's regulatory framework for pricing electricity. It balances the needs of all classes of electric consumers with those of the public utilities
The provisions of the proposal that are critical include:

• Providing an adequate supply of energy to meet our needs

• Encouraging updating and modernization of the distribution and transmission system

• Protecting residential and industrial consumers from rate spikes

• Jobs are protected

• Creating new industries and new jobs to respond to the advanced and renewable energy markets

• Utilities can continue to thrive

Ohio's clean energy resources, manufacturing base, and technological know-how are a recipe for Ohio to become a leader in the development of clean energy.

Please strengthen SB 221 by including an interim benchmark that would result in Ohio reaching 10% of our electricity from clean wind energy and other renewable sources of power by 2018.

Sincerely,

Understanding the Path to Securing
Government Contracts: A Workshop Series

Federal, State and Local governments are huge purchasers of goods and services. The Federal government alone executed 275,935 contracting actions for a total of $8,599,724,219 ($8.6 BILLION) in purchasing from Ohio companies in 2007. Small businesses in Ohio received 28%, or about $2.4 billion of those contracting dollars. In total, small businesses do approximately $92 Billion in business directly with the Federal government and about $60 billion more in subcontracting with large Federal contractors. Someone is going to get this business, why not have the dollars come to Northeast Ohio via a contract with your company.

The Procurement Technical Assistance Center, the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio, the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, WECO, ShoreBank, City of Cleveland purchasing, and the SBA are offering a special government workshop series for small businesses wishing to establish or increase sales to governments and their prime contractors. This industry-specific morning conference will feature insights from a local small business owner.

The manufacturing session, scheduled for Thursday, April 17, 2008 from 8:00 AM to Noon, will be held at ShoreBank, 540 E. 105th Street, Cleveland, OH 44108. Cost is $10. RSVP by April 4th to Marilyn Soltis of the WECO Fund, Inc. at 216.458.0250. For information on additional business sector sessions, including construction, service providers, and suppliers, click here.

If you've received this e-mail in error or if you don't want to receive any e-mails from us, send a message to aschaum@wire-net.org with the word REMOVE as the subject. Your e-mail address will be removed from our database. Thank you!