By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com
ANDERSON - Mayor Kris Ockomon and a delegation from Madison County visited Washington, D.C., on Wednesday at the urging of Special Advisor to the President Ed DeSeve.
Ockomon, state Rep. Scott Reske, Pendleton Town Council President Don Henderson, Flagship Enterprise Center President and CEO Chuck Staley and Assistant to the Mayor for Diversity Julia Lewis visited with DeSeve, who heads up the implementation of the federal stimulus plan, for about an hour, bringing with them a wish list of projects in need of federal funding.
"The purpose was to discuss several projects that we think are important to our community," Staley said. "We left thinking that we had shared everything that we had brought with us, we had heard from somebody who was very much interested."
The first and main request by the delegation was that Anderson company Bright Automotive be considered for stimulus funds it seeks, as well as for a federal loan. Bright, which recently unveiled its fuel-efficient cargo van, the Idea, requested funds to stay in Anderson and manufacture the Idea, which could bring 3,500 to 5,000 jobs to the city.
"Our bottom line there is jobs," Staley said. "Our framework, priority was what creates the most jobs for our community."
Ockomon was confident the delegation's message about Bright got across to DeSeve, who suggested he would speak to the Department of Energy about the project.
"(Bright is) not seeking grant money or a handout, they're just seeking a loan," Ockomon said.
Secondly, the delegation requested funding to secure other battery companies in Anderson.
"We don't have facilities," Staley said. "We need 300,000 square feet."
The visitors informed DeSeve and Evan Ryan, assistant to the vice president and special assistant to the president, of their hopes to either rehabilitate the former General Motors Plant 20 into a green facility or build a new technology park near the Flagship.
The delegation's third request was $7.5 million in funds for a minority business center to be located on the city's west side, and finally, they asked for funds for military testing of building materials made by Alexandria company Bolt-A-Blok.
"It's a very structurally strong block that, when put together, is probably as strong as reinforced concrete," Henderson said. "For military purposes, it has a lot of potential."
Anderson officials were invited to meet with DeSeve after a recent article in the New York Times about Anderson caught the eye of Vice President Joe Biden.
"I think that triggered something in the vice president and certainly in (presidential Chief of Staff) Rahm Emanuel and perhaps the president as well," Staley said.
Henderson said the fact that local officials were called up to Washington, D.C., bodes well for their chances of securing funding.
"What is really significant about the trip is the fact that the call came from the vice president's office to the mayor," he said. "That's quite a bit different than us trying to push our efforts upwards. It puts us in a much better, stronger position."
The delegates said DeSeve received them well in the Eisenhower Building at the White House Compound, where they met with him in the vice president's business office.
"We probably were all a bit intimidated," Staley said. "You walk into this complex past all these Marine guards and security. (DeSeve) was so real and welcoming, it probably caught us all off guard a little bit. He was very sincere in his concern for our city and some of the losses that it had experienced."
Staley and Ockomon were impressed with the ornate design of the Eisenhower Building, and even more impressed by former President Richard Nixon's old desk sitting in their meeting room, complete with signatures of past vice presidents.
Indiana's representatives tried to make accommodations for the delegation as well.
"We had contacted both our senators' offices and Congressman (Mike) Pence's office, and we certainly have their support in what we're proposing and doing as well," Henderson said. "They all three expressed their desire to help us however they could."
Staley said he was optimistic that the trip would yield results, particularly for the Bright Automotive request.
"The opportunity that I see here is that companies create usually five to 10 jobs, sometimes we may get up to 15 to 20," he said. "We have an opportunity now to change the whole paradigm; in one area, to recapture 3,000 to 5,000 jobs for the community."
Ockomon said he was confident President Barack Obama still recognized Anderson as he did on his campaign stops to the city.
"We're on his radar screen," Ockomon said. "We feel like we're still on his mind."