Baton Rouge Area Chamber President and CEO Adam Knapp outlined five goals the agency will pursue in the new year during a lunchtime address to the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday.
Knapp says he sees Baton Rouge as in flux, pointing to the numerous leadership positions up for grabs this year in the Capital Region, including a new East Baton Rouge Parish Schools superintendent, LSU president, Baton Rouge Community College chancellor, state schools superintendent, as well as nearly a half-dozen term-limited Metro Council seats and a city-parish mayoral race.
“I think 2020 represents a sort of momentous fork in the road for who we are as a region, and in one direction there’s a precipice and really the other direction is a steep staircase,” Knapp says.
With the selection of the new parish schools superintendent, BRAC aims to drive advances in educational outcomes and financial restructuring, which it lists among its five goals for the year.
As the St. George incorporation effort heads to the court system, Knapp says they want to prepare the community for any changes that may come as a part of the incorporation. The agency has aims to lead discussions locally on fiscal and governance reforms.
Another goal is to elevate positive Baton Rouge-area stories, which will strengthen the region’s reputation and help recruit and retain talent. Economic progress, Knapp says, is linked to access to talent.
“I think when we talk about traffic as our No. 1 obstacle to doing business, we are not perhaps seeing a more significant obstacle,” Knapp says. “Traffic is definitely an impediment and it remains our No. 1 advocacy priority because it must be, but I would say the visible and tangible problem of congestion may be less important than the invisible and intangible problem of human capital.”
Other goals:
• Galvanizing a public sense of urgency on the need to be proactive regarding litter, blight and maintenance, and making the issue a local election priority
• Securing increased statewide funding and reforms for Louisiana’s transportation infrastructure, including a new Mississippi River bridge and connectors.
