Tim Cowden, who recruits companies on behalf of 18 counties and 50 communities in the Kansas City metro area, is confident that Lawrence can continue to win in the high-stakes game of economic development.

He also knows how to play to a hometown crowd, comparing the city’s economic development strengths to a certain sports team that just happened to win a national title this year.

“It’s not unlike the KU basketball program,” said Cowden, senior vice president for economic development at the Kansas City Area Development Council, during a presentation Wednesday at Free State High School.

“Lawrence has a terrific product. It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s a great place to go to school. It’s a great place to operate your business. : Lawrence has a colorful history : and a history of success – as does, certainly, the KU basketball program.”

Leaders at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce certainly would enjoy scoring some triumphs akin to those of Kansas University’s Jayhawks on the court, and organized a meeting Wednesday night to get the ball rolling.

Just down the hall from Bill Self’s basketball camp, about 50 bankers, developers, Realtors, government leaders, attorneys, economic-development staffers and others gathered in the auditorium at Free State to participate in a chamber seminar, Property Tax Relief & Job Creation: $$ and Sense in Lawrence.

“It’s to start a conversation, a dialogue – create some synergy around some intentional, appropriate development,” said Jim Otten, chamber chairman. “It’s important to set a compass, to get some direction here.”

Among speakers offering advice:

¢ Art Hall, executive director for the Center for Applied Economics at KU, emphasized that Lawrence and Douglas County were in good shape economically, and that the area remained in good position to succeed. Hall also suggested cutting property taxes for businesses by about 50 percent, to bring the costs in line with taxes charged on residences and, he figures, spur more business investment and job creation.

¢ Sarah McKinley, quality manager for Sauer-Danfoss in the East Hills Business Park, said that her company decided in 1997 to come to Lawrence only after the community survived several early-round cuts and advanced to the finals for landing a new plant. Only then did officials visit the three finalists. “Not getting eliminated (early) is a pretty big key,” she said.

Among those listening to it all was Frank Male, owner of Lawrence Landscape. He’s hoping that the information helps Lawrence depart from its course of recent years, one he sees as being diverted by missed opportunities.

Russell Stover Candies built a plant in Abilene only after Lawrence “ran them off,” he said, and American Eagle took its plans for a new distribution center to Ottawa after being chased away from a site that already had been chosen at East Hills.

That reputation needs to change, he said, as such things can end up giving other companies reasons to cross the community off their lists.

“It’s a problem,” he said.