MOUNT VERNON — “You have got to set up your own economy here, not just be a bedroom community to Columbus,” consultant, businessman and author Jack Schultz told those attending a business forum Tuesday in Mount Vernon. “Economic development is a long-term project.”

One of the keys to successful economic development, according to Schultz, is a vision for the community.

“Vision marks the roadmap to success; it takes into account the destination, the surrounding terrain, and the roadblocks and hazards along the way,” he writes in his book. “ ... Vision often makes the difference between a ghost town and a booming town.”

“I think you do have to have a vision for your community,” said Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis. “I think we have a real mix of people who have their own vision, as well as a shared vision.”

“Mount Vernon has had a number of visions where the movers and shakes have made things happen,” said Pat Crow, director of the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We don’t really find ourselves in bad conditions [now] because of those decisions [made then].”

Crow said some of those decisions were made 50 years ago when the Area Development Foundation was created. The ADF expanded the manufacturing base in the county to include not just one or two large employers, but eight or nine businesses that employ 300 to 500 people.

“We have an industrial park full of businesses that are doing just that,” said Crow. “Companies like Pittsburgh Plate Glass, American National Can — the big ones are gone. They didn’t make the transition. In Mount Vernon and Knox County we made that transition at the time it was happening.

“So do we have a vision?” he asked. “If you look at the comprehensive plan, no. I think we have a good idea of what we consider important; health care, quality of life, transportation. Do we have a specific development vision? Not in terms of where we want to be with a specific number of jobs and so forth. I think we have a development philosophy that has worked very well. I don’t think the platform exists for everyone involved in development to have a forum to talk.”

Crow said there are three levels of planning: Comprehensive, strategic and tactical.

“The comprehensive plan as originally conceived by Tom Heine ... is an overview,” he said, adding that the premise of the comprehensive plan was to pick four or five areas on which to focus, out of 20 or 30 things to do. The comprehensive plan is for a 10- to 20-year range.

“Each organization or slice of the community needs to be creating a strategic plan,” he said, to cover three- to five-year periods. The tactical work plan then details specific steps to carry out the strategic plan.

“The comprehensive plan doesn’t knit everyone together,” said Crow. “Government sits in a good place to help with that, but there are lot of facets to that. The comprehensive plan provides part of that, but I don’t believe we are all on the same page like we probably should be. We can and should be working together to make things happen. That’s what ADF is all about.”

Leadership is a component of making a vision come to fruition. Crow said Mount Vernon and Knox County has that leadership.

“Absolutely,” said Crow. “Leadership Knox has developed very nicely over the years ... The Allen Kahrls of yesterday are being replaced by new ones. Are they on the same page on everything? No. Are they on the same page on some things? Sure.”

“I feel good that we have people who work toward developing ideas and do work toward [implementing] them,” said Mavis.

Citing specific projects such as housing, Foundation Park, the Kokosing Gap Trail, and road improvements to Coshocton Road and South Main Street, he said, “that’s not one person. That’s not one group. It takes a large part of the community.”

In response to whether leadership should come from business, organization, individuals or government, Crow said “Yes.”

“It comes from all of them,” he said. “Government is a player in providing leadership. Not just as a body on a board, but by making sure things the city and county are doing are congruent with the overall direction we’re taking. The development foundation, industries, the chamber — and the chamber board, not just the president — the visitors bureau, the downtown association. It takes all of those organizations and all of those folks.”

Crow agreed with another of Schultz’s components of success: Maintaining local control.

“Local ownership is necessary, not out-of-town owners, who typically don’t help you. It’s local ownership that makes it work,” he said.

Crow said leadership may be visible — someone talking about a project or starting a business. It may be invisible, such as putting money into properties or being an investor in a start-up business. Leadership can be provided through money, services or in-kind contributions. He said leadership is saying “we don’t have to have new sidewalks, but this is important, so we are doing it. We don’t need new lights, but it’s important, so we are.”

“We have the leadership that is doing many of the right things,” he said, adding that a community has to be ready for a paradigm shift. “We have to have our eyes open. Jack’s message was you have to be ready for those visions and be prepared.

“I think we have a winning combination in Mount Vernon and Knox County,” he said. “I think we’ve reached a plateau — it’s time to climb to the next level.”