2001 Annual Report Executive Summary
City of East Prairie Enterprise Community
Overview of the Impact of the 1994 East Prairie Enterprise Community on the Economy and Well-Being of Residents: The economic and physical well being for the 3416 residents of East Prairie living in the East Prairie Enterprise Community for the year 2001 was both positively and negatively impacted. Preschool youth and their parents now have an opportunity to create more learning opportunities for their youth through the Even Start educational program, a collaborative program with the East Prairie R#2 School District. The community benefits from year- round after school and weekend program due to the Twenty First Century After School Program and the Positive Patterns for Kids, a community based weekend and summer latch key program (Benchmark 4). Over 100 community youth participate in these activities.
The economic downturn in the economy has negatively impacted the entire area. This is compounded by continued lower agricultural prices and the trend of moving factories out of the country. (Benchmark 14) There were several positive economic development activities in 2001. The East Prairie Enterprise Community has formed a partnership with Cornell University to create an Entrepreneurship Center for disadvantaged adults and youth in the Enterprise Community, Mississippi County, the Missouri Bootheel, and the Lower Mississippi Delta Region. A professor from Cornell and Susanna Wesley Inc. will meet in January will the Kauffman Foundation to discuss the Mini Society Project, an entrepreneurial program for youth. Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center has acquired a building for a food processing center, another entrepreneurial project. Revolving loan funds have provided gap funding for three businesses, one startup business and two business retentions.
Three activities, approved and funded by the Community Development Block grant, will strengthen the city infrastructure. Residents will be protected by a more efficient infrastructure including a new fire station and water and sewer treatment plant. Housing will also be positively impacted by the construction of two new houses for low income residents and the beginnings of a building skills program. The City of East Prairie Enterprise Community in partnership with Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center, Inc., lead entity for the enterprise community, applied for and has received a notice of funding from the Missouri Department of Economic Development Community Block Development Program for a Building Skills program. In this Building Skills program, participants will construct three houses during the next 18 months. These houses will be purchased by a low income applicants. The building skills program targets Welfare To Work clients in Mississippi and Scott counties with special emphasis on non-custodial parents. The major marketing effort for economic development in the East Prairie Enterprise Community become an approved Ameren UE InSite community. The goal of this program is to create a marketing tool for Ameren Services Communities that will raise economic development competitiveness by identifying ready-to-build sites. Completion of the program also offers qualifying communities professionally engineered building plans specification, drawings, and approximated. cost etc. for a 60,000-sq.ft building expandable to 200,000 sq ft. This will assist in the promotion of the East Prairie Enterprise Community and attract new business development to the 54 acre Industrial Park that is owned by the city. It will promote the existing 60,000 sq. ft. building that is currently available, due to the closing of Jakel, Inc. (Benchmarks 12 and 14).
The progress of the St. John's Bayou New Madrid Floodway project (Benchmark 15) for the year 2001 continues to move slowly. The planned construction date for construction of flood protection for the St Johns New Madrid Floodway project was spring 2001. Residents watched as federal agencies loosely stepped outside of their own guidelines to achieve previously determined goals not necessarily good for the community of East Prairie. The project is now undergoing yet another SEIS with a hearing date scheduled for Spring 2002.
The Twenty First Century After School Program offered computer training. Over 30 residents have been enrolled in the East Prairie R#2 Computer training program. Thirty youth ages 14-17 have experienced over 100 hours on site work experience at local businesses.
The East Prairie Tourism Council (Benchmark 13) continues to work to complete the goals of the Enterprise Community to effectively influence economic development through tourism. During the past year, the council has written and submitted information on local attractions that have been published in regional, state and national tourism publications. Success in Leveraging and Obtaining Funds for Project As a result of the Enterprise designation and with the support of partners, the community has acquired, since 1994, over $14,000,000 in additional funding to implement benchmark activities.
Funds for the calendar year 2001 include: Missouri Department of Economic Development Neighborhood Assistance Grant to Susanna Wesley, Inc. for Welfare to Work Program and Incentives $470,000 years 2000-2001. The City of East Prairie was awarded a $500,000 Missouri CDBG Public Facility Grant to build a 350,000 gallon water tower. This will aid in a total project to construct a new water treatment rehabilitation project that is funded with a combination of CDBG grant, USDA Rural Development loans and city funding. The total cost of this project will be $4,502,850. (Benchmark 14) The City was awarded a Community Facility Grant for the construction of a new Fire Station for $290,000. This amount, along with the city funding will allow a new Fire Station to be constructed. The City was awarded a Missouri CDBG -Innovative Grant for Job Training/Housing Construction Program in the amount of $244,900. Missouri Division of Job Training through Service Delivery Area 13 Workforce Investment Board funded employment support, job training, and job connections, $1,865,358.00 to Susanna Wesley to fund the East Prairie Enterprise Community and other areas in the southern southeastern region. Missouri Division of Social Services for Cultural Productivity grant, $100,000 direct services to domestic violence, $75,779; Missouri Department of Education Special Literacy Grants, $66,000 and Even Start $200,000, and AmeriCorps Vista Member (LIFT MO) $24,000; Missouri Department of Public Safety, youth programming and domestic violence support $201,544. Private donors included: Ameren UE Smartlight to East Prairie Recreation Corporation for recreational facility lighting, $10,000 and $61,000 from private donors to support youth and adult programming.