Delta Bridge to focus on quality of life issues

The steering committee for the Delta Bridge Project is preparing to start submitting grant proposals in the coming weeks and months with the main focus of this round of funding being quality of life projects.

The King Foundation is looking to fund at least two more projects in Mississippi County, according to Southern Bancorp Community Partners Community Development Officer Lauren Isbell, both of which she expects would be near the $50,000 range each. The focus now for the committee will be getting together apropos proposals and getting them turned in.

Isbell said she wasn't given a "fast, hard deadline" to apply for grants from the King Foundation, but said the sooner they can be turned in the better. With a number of potential project proposals all but ready to go, including projects for security cameras for downtown Blytheville and Osceola, and a new public park in Osceola, Isbell said the committee's task will be deciding which projects should be submitted first.

After proposals have been selected, which should take place during the committee's July 13 meeting, they will be sent to a grant writing team and then passed along to the King Foundation before its August board meeting. According to Isbell, once the King Foundation board makes its decisions the steering committee should receive word shortly thereafter.

With the King Foundation likely looking to do only two more projects in the county at this time, remaining proposals will be sent to the Southern Grant Committee, which has a deadline near the end of September.

While the committee won't make any definite decisions until next month's meeting about which proposals to push through first, the group did spend significant time talking about quality of life projects and obtaining funding for projects "citizens could see as they drive through town."

In other news, the committee is also looking to schedule a site visit to another county that is already several years into its strategic plan to see what could possibly be waiting for Mississippi County several years down the road. From potential problems to projects successes, the group is hoping to get a better idea of what it will be facing in the coming years with the visit.