Community and Economic Development
Goals | Hazard Mitigation | Committee members | Economic Development Professionals Quarterly Forums |
CEDS (Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies) | Blandin Broadband Initiative | Grant Opportunity Forum | Renewable Energy |
Ronda Allis, John Considine, Jon Hammel
The community and economic development team at Region Nine believe community is a basic building block of society, and that:
* Community is complex and multi-dimensional.
* The human dimension, which is capable of growth and development, is the most critical aspect of community.
*Development of each community can be fostered through improvement of individual, organizational and problem-solving knowledge and skills.
Those helping to develop and sustain communities must understand a variety of complex and ever-changing systems. The profession of community development integrates knowledge from many disciplines with community development theory, research, teaching and practice; these important and interdependent functions are vital in both the private and public sectors.
Program Objectives
The goal of the Region Nine economic development program is to increase the number of good jobs and wealth in the region. This is done by financing business expansion through revolving loan funds and by provision of business assistance through the Small Business Development Center. A third means of economic development is through technical assistance to communities who are faced with obstacles in their economic development efforts. These obstacles may include lack of infrastructure, such as sewer and water, lack of good industrial plan, or lack of specific information that would facilitate economic expansion. Region Nine works with communities to overcome these difficulties in the following ways.
Technical Assistance
Region Nine provides technical assistance to local units of government and economic development authorities in planning and carrying out economic development strategies. This assistance can take many forms including:
- Economic Development Strategic Planning
- Land Use Planning and Zoning Assistance
- Industrial Park Planning
- Infrastructure Development
- Downtown Revitalization and development planning
- Site Planning
- Subdivision plans and development reviews
- Ordinance Development
- Community attitude surveys
Special Studies
In their economic development efforts, communities might need to have specialized assistance for their projects. Region Nine has the staff, expertise and experience to assist with the necessary plans and studies. Examples include:
- Labor survey
- Comprehensive planning
- Marketing surveys
- Parking studies
- Recreational trail plans
- Traffic flow analysis
- Feasibility studies
- Housing studies and strategies
- Retail sale studies
- Traffic and transportation studies
- Environmental studies
- Economic studies
- Demographic trend data analysis
For years, Region Nine’s commitment to serving local units of government has provided the highest level of expertise at a fraction of the cost. Our team is ready to help make your job easier with any project you may have.