County and city officials met Tuesday morning with agents from the East Arkansas Planning and Development District to discuss future plans for the area's development.
Pam Alexander, the agency's deputy director, explained to the gathered mayors, business owners and other county officials that the agency has recently received a HUD sustainable communities planning grant in the amount of $2.6 million, which it plans to use in assisting the 12 counties in their area with making strategic plans for development.
The organization, which will be working with Mississippi County, is called Building Communities, and plans to meet with a steering committee of community members on a monthly basis for a period of three years, first to assess the county's needs (housing, public transportation, healthcare, etc.), then to assign tasks and provide support for the grassroots effort to improve the community. When strategic plans are completed and particular projects for community improvement are identified, Alexander said it is then her agency's job to go after grant funding to help the community get started.
Officials can decide whether each city wants to create its own individual growth plan in addition to the county's, or whether the effort will be collaborative. The end goal of the process will be the identification and planning of several community projects that would fill gaps citizens are currently suffering. A part of the process is participation in an under-utilized assets study, which will look at large assets held by area communities and how they can be brought back into full functionality.
County economic developer Cliff Chitwood and Chamber of Commerce director Liz Smith both voiced concerns that the proposed program is very similar to, and may overlap with, the Delta Bridge Project which is sponsored by the non-profit arm of Southern Bancorp and is also working to create a strategic growth plan for the county. Alexander said her agency would be willing to collaborate with Southern Bancorp to ensure that both processes complement each other and do not repeat work. The county is on the books to participate in a planning week during September, after which certain needs and projects will be identified and plans made for improvements.
sharris@blythevillecourier.com