| Elgin 2023 Planning for our future! |
The Elgin City Website Presents:
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| Contacts these committee heads for more information Communication - Deb Kahler Fundraising - Janelle Bradley Iowa Great Places - Arleon Kelley Mainstreet and Beautification - Jim Knoblach Quality of Life - John Molumby Economic Development - Diane Boleyn Web Site - John Cairns |
Elgin 2023 Several Elgin residents were concerned about its future. In the fall of 2007 a conversation in the Elgin Community Betterment Club (ECBC) about the future of Elgin resulted in a recommendation that all the identifiable organizations serving the community be invited to participate in a meeting to think about Elgin's future. It resulted in the Elgin visioning process, under the leadership of Arleon Kelley and Cathy Molumby, began on November 1, 2007, when 55 Elginites representing twenty-one of the twenty-two Elgin area organizations first dared dream a new vision of what Elgin might become in fifteen years. The vision that emerged was stated thus: "we will create a preferred future for the Elgin community, which ensures it is a good place: to raise a family; recreate and play; with good jobs; and good educational opportunities for everyone; within a culture that promotes our best values." The dozens of visions shared in the first meeting clustered into five overarching clusters: Public Safety; Life Long Education; Mainstreet and Community Beautification; Quality of Life; and Economic Development. The participants then chose one of the five to begin thinking about their specific vision and next steps in that area of concern. A convener for each group emerged and an overall Steering Committee of fifteen was chosen for the purpose of coordinating and ensuring implementation of the visions. Donna Meinhard was asked to be the Steering Committee Convener and Arleon Kelley was asked to continue as the volunteer planning consultant (since Cathy Molumby was fully occupied as our Valley School Superintendent). At a second community meeting in January 2008 it was decided that 'Public Safety' be referred directly to the Elgin City Council and 'Life Long Learning' be referred to the Valley Community Schools and the Elgin Community Library Board. Three teams of volunteers were organized for the Work Groups: Quality of Life; Economic Development; and Mainstreet and Community Beautification to work on a sub-vision for 2023 in that area of concern. The Visions these work groups developed are as follow: Quality of Life Vision: By 2023 we envision Elgin as a clean, well-kept, friendly, creative, forward looking, socially diverse community with vital institutions and a sense of cultural excitement and economic well being that capitalizes on the recreational opportunities in the area. Economic and Community Transformation and Development Vision: By 2023 Elgin will be an economically vital and attractive place to live. It will be a camping, fishing and hunting destination; have new businesses, fifteen new living wage jobs and many renovated and new homes. Mainstreet and Community Beautification Vision: By 2023, ever conscious of environmental values, the physical facilities Elgin will be transformed and aesthetically pleasing for residents and visitors. We will have a re-built and beautified mainstreet, implemented a landscape plan for streets and parks and dealt imaginatively with marginal housing and building stock in the City - especially those of historic significance. In turn, as each team identified some things they hoped to accomplish by the end of 2008 and several more things they needed to accomplish by the end of 2012 in order to make progress toward their 2023 vision. Quality of Life The Quality of Life team, chaired by John Molumby, envisioned the following work: completing a trail from Hidden Valley to the center of Elgin; work to complete plans and funding for a connecting trail from Calmer, through Clermont to the Gilbertson County Park and Nature Center east of Elgin. Further, the team will provide support for the completion of the Hidden Valley Community playground; provide support for the "Heart of the Valley" medical clinic; initiate a conversation with the "Valley Community Recreation "Center"" Board to invigorate that project, seeking grants and writing grant proposals to support the effort; communicate with the Fayette Co. Recreation Board re: facility and program needs in the Elgin and Valley Community; ensure regular participation in the Northeast Iowa "Health and Fitness" project and the "Fayette County Trails Committee; and support special celebrations, like "Sweet Corn Days" and the "2009 Homecoming" and plan other possibilities that enhance community beauty and spirit. In addition this group anticipated they would like to see: the Valley Recreation "Center" come to reality; see a plan implemented that will create "community art" and design around some common themes in Elgin; and in collaboration with the Mainstreet and Community Beatification effort see a complete Landscape plan for Elgin's parks and streets. Economic and Community Transformation and Development This work group, chaired by Diane Boleyn developed a series of tasks to complete in 2008. They said they would: complete a survey of available business sites (It was completed); develop interpretative materials about Elgin and what it has to offer for distribution through the County Tourism, Economic Development and through the State Tourism and Welcome Centers (It as been completed); and recruit, enable or encourage one new business to open in Elgin (Two have opened). In addition the team identified preparation work to be done in the near future: develop an economic marketing plan for Elgin, with three foci: tourism, business recruitment and retention, and new residents; complete the research, lists and update information about all Elgin businesses; explore the need for an independent Economic Development Non-Profit Corporation for the purpose of land purchase/development and to establish a revolving loan fund for start- up businesses and expansion of current businesses; (Such a fund has been established by serveral Elgin business persons). develop a ‘prospectus’ for business recruitment; and be in regular liaison with Fayette Co. and State Tourism and Economic Development offices. The economic development team will also develop a plan: to capitalize on Elgin as a fishing and hunting destination, as well as a fine place to live or retire; develop a work-force development plan to ensure an available capable, dependable, and educated workforce to attract potential employers; and to recruit five new businesses providing at least six good living wage jobs for the community. In addition the group agreed to develop a Valley wide community calendar (complete); upgrade the web-site (completed); develop a plan to upgrade communication access in Elgin, perhaps with community wide high-speed internet and wireless networks so we are an attractive possibility for internet entrepreneurs. (Remembering that communication modes are developing so rapidly, the needs may be entirely different by 2023); devise a consumer education project to educate folks on the economic and environmental value of buying and playing locally; and develop a mentoring network so that current Elgin business owners and merchants can help develop and advise young/new entrepreneurs in Elgin. Mainstreet and Community Beautification This team chose Jim Knobloch, a member of Elgin City Council as its convener. The team developed an ambitious agenda of work. The short-term goals included: painting a mural on one or more buildings; building and putting flower boxes on the windows of mainstreet buildings; and collaborating with Economic Development to complete a survey of vacant or dilapidated buildings/houses. It became evident that until a city-wide theme, logo and motto for the city were chosen the envisioned art should probably not be undertaken, because the art should revolve around those themes. Two grants were written hoping to secure art consultants. Both were turned down. In the meantime this team envisioned: researching available sources of help in the design and planning of Mainstreet (Center Street) and developing estimations of costs and potential sources of funding. From this work it will develop the critical path and timelines necessary to re-building and beautifying Center Street; and further collaborate with the Economic Development Work Group and the "Branding" Committee to inform the decisions about building beautification and the Quality of Life Work Group Plan for play ground, park and street beautification. In the longer run the goals of this work team include: to enable the completion of the Mainstreet (Center Street) paving, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping (e.g., shrubbery or trees); working with the Business/Building owners on Center Street to "spruce up" or otherwise beautify their buildings; continue working with the Quality of Life Work Group to implement the plan for landscaping the streets, parks; upgrade at least 50 homes largely through owner and volunteer efforts; advocate for the removal of dilapidated houses, the repair and painting of houses not well kept and the "fill-in" with new housing where there are empty lots; working with the city and lot owners to make all sidewalks whole; and design, and where possible, ensure Elgin streets are "complete streets", i.e., streets that accommodate pedestrians, bikes and cars; as well as design and upgrade the city's playgrounds. Now to anyone one who looks at the above vision will tell you these are ambitious plans, especially since Elgin has no employed implementing staff and very little in the way of monetary resources. It does have resourceful people however. Therefore, the Steering Committee has pursued three avenues to move toward implementation. The first was the creation of three overarching task groups: A Communications "hub" Committee, to build communications networks and relationships within and beyond Elgin - especially with Clermont and Wadena; A Community Image (Branding) Committee to develop recommended themes, logos and marketing strategy for the City and environs. What do we want to be known as, and how will we get people to visit, and what will we do to be inviting when they get here? (This work has been done and the Steering Committee authorized development of possible logos and mottos); and A Grant Writing Committee. This committee will work with the three Work Groups, searching for consultative and financial resources to support their work. When the connections are made, it will prepare grant applications. (To date five applications have been made of which two were turned down.) Secondly the Steering Committee sought the approval of these visions by the Elgin City Council and then with that approval applied with the State of Iowa for candidacy as an "IOWA GREAT PLACE". That candidacy was granted by the state in May of 2008. Such candidacy accords some special considerations as grants are written to the State. It has already resulted in an effort to create the Turkey River Corridor as a Great Place. Each of the cities in the Corridor, Clermont, Elgin and Elkader would also become a Great Place and together would develop the Turkey River Corridor as a Water Trail, for canoeing and perhaps as a white water kayaking and an akin bike and walking trail. The three communities believe the recreational opportunities the River this would create could become an economic boon for the whole area and could connect us to a trail system that potentially could go from the Mississippi River Trail at Guttenberg to Calmer and perhaps hook into the northern Iowa trail system from New Albin to Decorah and on to Cresco. Finally, the City Council has agreed to entertain a proposal from MSA Engineering, its long time consulting engineers, to develop either a master plan or at least a plan for the mainstreet development and beautification project. That will be discussed at a City Council Meeting on December 15, 2008. On the date this is written, December 12, 2008, we all wonder - what will be the result of all this work? We believe many of our dreams will be realized. Elgin can continue to be a fine place to live, raise your family and get old. We believe Elgin can continue to be economically viable, culturally rich and embrace the values we so want for our families. We will find our niche as a fine place to live, work and play. We will be prepared for the best the 21st century has to offer. Submitted by: Dr. Arleon L. Kelley, Volunteer 2023 Consultant Dr. Donna Meinhard, 2023 Steering Committee Convener. |