City plans to renew economic development corporation contract

The Santa Clarita City Council is expected to renew a three-year, $600,000 contract with the Santa Clarita Economic Development Corp. at its regular meeting Tuesday.

The contract started as a $200,000 agreement that established the corporation in 2009, according to city documents. The council has approved yearly investments of $200,000 until 2013, when the investment was given on three-year cycles.

“Since its formation, the SCVEDC has expanded from its roots in business attraction to include business retention and assistance, and support for entrepreneurship and the startup community. The SCVEDC focuses on target industries of aerospace/defense, digital media/entertainment, information technology, bioscience/medical device, and advanced manufacturing,” city documents said.

The corporation has assisted more than 100 companies and attracted or retained 2,000 jobs in the region, according to city documents.

“The SCVEDC supported a number of expansions of SCV businesses, including Lief Organics, ADCO Products, and Accurate Freight. All target industries were represented, including: the attraction of aerospace companies Nasmyth and AS Aerospace; the expansion of Santa Clarita Studios; the expansion of Set Point Medical; and the retention of Boston Scientific. The results of the previous years’ efforts were evident, with the construction of the new headquarters for Logix Federal Credit Union underway and the expansion of technology company Scorpion, which moved into its new headquarters in November,” city documents said.

City records noted the corporation is “intended to complement and not compete with” groups like the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce, the city, county or the Valley Industry Association.