The Central Delaware Economic Development Council is no more.

    The organization, created in 1978 to encourage economic growth in Kent County, was replaced last week by a new group, the Kent Economic Partnership Inc.

    Changing times and a changing economic climate meant the new organization was an idea whose time had come, said the partnership’s CEO, Daniel Wofensberger.

    “It was time to put it out on its own,” he said.

    Unlike the CDEDC, of which he was executive director, the partnership is an independent, non-profit organization, Wolfensberger said. The CDEDC was a committee of the Kent County Chamber of Commerce, which meant it had less autonomy and less independence than the new organization will have, he said.

    “It’s a good arrangement,” Wolfensberger said. “It will allow us to be more out there in the marketplace for economic development.”

‘A giant step’

    Dennis Klima, who was named chairman of the partnership’s board of directors, told members of Kent County Levy Court Nov. 25 the group’s aim is to pursue new opportunities for the tourism, health care, education, construction and agriculture industries and to keep and improve conditions for existing businesses. If other opportunities come up, they will go after them as well, he said.

    The new partnership, which has been under development for about a year, also will be able to own and develop real estate so it can help build up publicly-owned areas including industrial parks. One of those is the Kent County AeroPark, which the partnership will continue to manage.

    “We’ll have a strategic plan and business goals and objectives we can implement and work to raise additional funds to be more competitive with county activities and private activities,” he said.

    Levy Court President P. Brooks Banta called the economic partnership “a giant step in the right direction.

    “It will allow us to move much more aggressively than in the past,” he said.

    Wolfensberger noted that the uncoupling of Kent’s economic development organization from the county Chamber of Commerce will give it new stature. Out-of-state companies looking to expand seem to prefer dealing with an organization such as the new partnership instead of a group considered only a part of the county’s Chamber of Commerce.

    Dover Mayor Carleton E. Carey Sr. concurred.

    “It’s important because we will be able to focus more on economic development because we’ll have more personnel involved,” he said, adding teaming the partnership with Dover’s own economic development office should benefit both the city and the county.

    The partnership also was enthusiastically received by a group of 44 Kent business leaders at a buffet at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino earlier in the day.

A $110,000 annual budget

    At $110,000 annually, the Kent Economic Partnership’s budget will be about the same as the CDEDC. Levy Court contributed $56,000 to the partnership, followed by $33,000 from corporate and private sources, $16,000 from the city of Dover and $5,000 from the Chamber of Commerce. Wolfensberger called that a “limited, but do-able” budget.

    The group expects to receive another $5,000 from an as-yet unnamed source, he added.

    “If we can raise more money, we can pursue more programs and pursue them more rapidly,” Wolfensberger said.

    The partnership will employ one full-time and one part-time employee, whose salaries will account for $75,000 of the annual budget. Other expenses will include $6,000 per year to run the partnership’s website, $5,000 for advertising and $21,000 for overhead.

    Other than Klima and Wolfensberger, the partnership’s board of directors includes county administrator Michael Petit de Mange as vice chairman; Dover City Council President Kenneth L. Hogan as treasurer; and businessman Alan Kovitz as secretary. Other board members include Banta; Delaware Economic Development Office Director Judy McKinney-Cherry; Independent Newspapers President Ed Dulin; Dover Downs Hotel & Casino President and CEO Denis McGlynn; Delaware State University Senior Administrator Dr. Hazell Reed; and League of Local Governments President George Wright.

    “When you look at that board of directors, it says Kent County all the way,” Wolfensberger said. “We’ll work all across Kent County. There are no exceptions.”

    Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.