2007 Annual Report Executive Summary
City of Bowling Green Enterprise Community
Bowling Green Enterprise Community conducted its annual public forum in February 2007. This concluded the fourth year of the new Board structure and the format has proven to be much more representative of the diversity of the BGEC and helped streamline the workings of the EC. The BGEC continues to offer Youth Development and Child Care scholarships. The Youth Development program assisted 52 individuals during the calendar year with a variety of activities, including sports registration fees, enrichment programs, school field trips and many more. The Child Care program funded eight applications for temporary assistance with childcare. With the implementation of the $4 prescription at Wal-Mart and several local pharmacies, the Indigent Drug Program prescription assistance was not utilized during this fiscal year. The set-aside for school assistance was also continued. This money is given to all the schools serving the students of the EC and is used for emergency needs of the school children. The program is administered through the Family Resource and Youth Service Centers at the schools. Five post secondary scholarships were awarded for the 2007-2008 school year in the amount of $1000 for each student. The guidelines were changed this year to include non-traditional students. Four of the recipients are attending Western Kentucky University and one the University of Louisville. The Board also authorized the ninth round of grants. Interested agencies were invited to submit a Letter of Intent to apply for this round of funding. Four grant applications were selected for funding totaling $84,155.50. The applications covered four benchmarks. The Board funded Big Brothers & Big Sisters- Little & Big Lessons Program under the Youth Development benchmark. This program will provide educational programming to youth who attend afterschool programs. The Board also awarded a grant to the Housing Authority of Bowling Green under the Transportation Benchmark. The Transportation Solutions Project will provide free transportation to and from jobs for individuals in the EC. Assistance will also be given to ESL residents who need help obtaining their drivers license. The third grant was awarded to the Housing & Community Development Department of the City for the EC Homeownership Initiative. The primary objective is to assist individuals who are attempting to become homeowners. Credit reports and counseling will be provided. The final grant was awarded to the Bowling Green Independent School District for the 21st Century Community Learning Center at Dishman McGinnis Elementary. This program provides afterschool care for the youth attending that elementary school. The grant will assist with the tuition fees for the students from the EC, including supplies, travel and printing costs. The Board authorized $55,000 to fund a Summer Youth Program for the EC. The program was open to youth ages 15-18 that were currently enrolled in high school and resided in the EC. Twenty students were placed in summer jobs at eleven different non-profit or governmental agencies. The work experience was the first for most of the youth and proved to be very beneficial. Feedback from both the employers and the youth was mostly positive and the Board has approved the program for the summer of 2008 as well. The EC continued its partnership with the Housing & Community Development Department to assist in the EC area wide cleanup effort. The Code Enforcement Division has undertaken a three-year plan to proactively inspect all houses within the Enterprise Community for code violations. The residents were given a grace period during which many services were free of charge. At the conclusion of the grace period, all houses in the targeted area were inspected for violations. The EC also offered monetary assistance to help homeowners repair violations or to construct handicapped ramps.