EDC board whittled down to 4 members

WYOMING, RI (WPRI) - One of the few members left on the embattled Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors is an eternal optimist but even Karl Wadensten admits the time is now to rebuild what he calls the first stop for new or growing businesses.

With the resignations of David Dooley, Jack Templin and Cheryl Snead subtracted from what was already a depleted board, there will soon be four members left. There are 13 seats on the board with the state’s governor sitting as the chairman.

“I still have the same amount of optimism but I’m starting to get a little worried that we won’t be able to pull out of this,” Wadensten says. “We’re down to a board of four members and the governor?  We have a lot of work to do.”

Wadensten, the board’s treasurer, held a Leadership RI workshop at his company, Vibco, in Wyoming, Rhode Island this week. Sixty-two business leaders toured his plant and were given a seminar of sorts of the LEAN philosophy that Wadensten believes is the key to success.

“It’s about customer focus,” he said. “Putting the customer first. Efficiency. Eliminating waste. It works in business and it would work in government.”

• RELATED; Making Government Lean

But the beginning of the Leadership Rhode Island meeting was preempted by a discussion about EDC.

“It became what the heck is going on?” Wadensten recalled. “And these are some of the best and brightest in the state. They want to know.”

Many believe the EDC is the necessary first stop for a start-up business or an existing entity that wants to expand.

“It was our first stop,” Wadensten said, thinking back to when his company was a start-up in the early 70s. “Back then, it was called the Industrial Building Authority.”

If you drew a three decade graph from then to now, you might notice the dip starting around last May as we found out 38 Studios was in trouble. Wadensten was the only no vote in the July 2010 decision to approve the $75 million dollar loan guarantee to Curt Schilling’s company which has since filed for bankruptcy.

• RELATED: 38 Studios Finances

The failure of the gaming venture led to the first round of resignations and now, one year later, a board of 13 will soon be down to four plus Governor Lincoln Chafee as the chairman.

“There were qualified replacements in that Leadership RI event. And even more in our alumni as well as in other areas. No doubt about it.” Wadensten said. “But can we convince them to make the commitment? Are they going to be willing to walk in this environment? Are they going to be given enough autonomy to effect change?”

Governor Chafee will select the replacements, who would then have to be confirmed by the state Senate. The Governor has not offered a time frame for when he will replenish the board.

Wadensten hopes the new group is diversified with experience in technology, healthcare, finance and labor. The board is assigned with making the decisions on who is and who isn’t approved for taxpayer-funded loans and loan guarantees.

Wadensten is also concerned that “the pipeline” of start-up and existing companies that need the EDC’s help has dried up.

“That’s your research and development,” Wadensten said regarding that pipeline of potential companies. “That’s your conduit for finding new technology. In the long term, you’re not building for the next generation.”

He insists that he remains optimistic.

“We can repair it but we have to get going.”

Send your news tips to Walt Buteau at wbuteau@wpri.com and f ollow Walt on Twitter: @wbuteau