2005 Annual Report Executive Summary
Clare County Enterprise Community
In an attempt to keep the 2005 Annual Narrative Report in a more reader friendly format, we have decided to present the information on a quarterly basis rather than monthly, as has been our practice. The year found the Clare County Enterprise Community (CCEC) Board of Directors addressing benchmarks where progress has been made as well as those where resources have been previously lacking.
During the first quarter, BM #1.1 (Develop Coordinated Land Use Plan), was revisited. CCEC partnered with the Clare County Planning Commission to facilitate a Farmland Preservation/Open Space study.
BM #19.1 (Vocational/Technical Education) spurred partnerships with the Clare-Gladwin Regional Educational Service District and Clare County Farm Bureau to study the need for additional vocational/technical educational opportunities for our students, specifically in agricultural science. Eight hundred high school students were surveyed with results indicating need in both agricultural science and health occupations. Current plans call for a countywide agricultural science program to be available for students Fall 2006.
BM #16.2 (Establish Satellite Resource Centers) highlighted the need for a countywide resource directory of which both provider and consumer versions have been developed and distributed, with continuing requests for additional copies. The bigger part of this project is the fact that it will lay the groundwork for what we hope will become a two-county, web based, 211-telephone referral network. The real highlight of the quarter was when Brian Buehler, Chief Information Officer, USDA Rural Development of Michigan reported that his agency had funded over $5,000,000 in Clare County projects during the previous year.
Three very successful Character Counts! breakfasts kicked off the second quarter in conjunction with BM #4.1 (diversity education). We also learned that one of our partners; Middle Michigan Development Corporation would be receiving a grant from USDA Rural Development to present Business Ethics workshops to our citizens, agencies and employers at no cost.
In conjunction with BM #18.7 (housing advocacy) the CCEC Board decided to apply for a HUD grant to enhance current housing services being offered. Also during this quarter, we learned through a presentation by Liz Caldwell of USDA RD and Sharon Jeffery of CCEC that during the previous year, they had together completed 157 pre-qualification documents for clients and offered over 100 hours of homebuyer education. They also reminded us that there are never enough funds to serve our very low-income clients.
Mapping or the lack there of, particularly in electronic format, has created many challenges in addressing many our benchmarks. We have attempted to address this issue in the past but just have not been able to locate the resources to craft a solution. The County IT department in conjunction with CCEC has established a workgroup to study the issue further. The community leadership project that came about because of BM #24 (community development/leadership) will become a countywide leadership institute in phase II of development. The program is expected to begin during the fall of 2005. In the early third quarter, the Clare County Board of Commissioners authorized the use of homeland security funds for the development of a GIS mapping program. All county departments will be involved, as they all require adequate mapping to develop the necessary emergency plans as required by law.
Several positive events occurred during this quarter. The City of Harrison established a Downtown Development Authority to enhance economic development efforts, the Clare County Housing Commission received a $70,000 grant from USDA RD to assist housing clients with wells and septic systems, Mid Michigan Community Action Agency received a $100,000 USDA RD grant to assist housing clients with repair needs and Mid Michigan Health in their newsletter featured a telemedicine initiative which was the result of a partnership between USDA RUS, CCEC and Mid Michigan Visiting Nurses Association.
After a lengthy period of inactivity, a partnership between CCEC and the Clare County Sheriff Department gave new life to BM #10.2 (elder safety). $5,000 was granted by CCEC to address senior fraud and safety issues. It is planned that the work on this initiative will be facilitated through township governments, neighborhood watch groups, property owners’ associations and other police agencies with the assistance of AARP of Michigan. Several discussions regarding the resources of AARP have taken place.
Finally, Bill Roche, hired by Clare County as its first county recreation director as a result of BM #5.1 (create countywide recreation plan), reported on a very successful first year of operation as an official department of the County.
After many dead-end attempts to locate a firm to complete a senior housing study, to address BM #18.10 (assisted living/Alzheimer’s care), CCEC signed a contract with LarsonAllen. It is expected the study will be complete in the first quarter of 2006.
During the fourth quarter much work took place preparing for Group WorkCamp, which is to take place during of the summer of 2006. It is expected that sixty plus homes of seasoned citizens and handicapped citizens will be repaired and painted. This project is designed to meet the needs of BM #18.4 (fix up paint up). CCEC and the Clare County United Way and Volunteer Center were able to secure another financial partner, the Clare County Housing Commission to help offset the cost of this project.
This was a busy quarter for the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Nominating Committee of CCEC. They had to prepare a slate of candidates to fill the open seats on the Board and review the organization’s bylaws for possible changes before the upcoming Annual Meeting in January. All in all, it was a very productive year.