2001 Annual Report Executive Summary
Josephine County Enterprise Community
EC/EZ Community: Illinois Valley Community Response Team, (IVCRT), which covers the southern and western parts of Josephine County and Sunny Wolf Community Response Team, (SWCRT), which covers the northern part of Josephine County. Contact Person for IVCRT: Name: Ron Phillips Address: P.O. Box 1824, Cave Junction, Oregon 97523 Phone: 541-592-4440 Fax: 541-592-4106 Email address: ronphillips@ivcrt.org Contact Person for SWCRT: Name: Tara Lowrance-Mattis Address: P.O. Box 127, Wolf Creek, Oregon 97497 Phone: 541-866-2600 Fax: 541-866-2449 Email address: SWCRT@echoweb.net
Executive Summary, IVCRT: The past year has been a time of consolidation for the Illinois Valley Community Response Team (IVCRT). In spite of being without a full-time Executive Director for almost half the year, the organization has managed to complete or significantly advance a number of projects begun earlier. Internally, the Strategic Plan update was completed, the new, diverse Board Directors well assimilated into the IVCRT, and a new Executive Director employed. The IVCRT is poised and better prepared now to exploit the next three years of its operational grant.
Infrastructure development focused on the provision of water to Kerby. The IVCRT granted $30,000 toward a $317,835 project that will renovate the Kerby Irrigation Ditch. Drinking water has undergone a serious deterioration in terms of quality and quantity. The low rainfall over the past several years has also exacerbated the drinking water supply problem in Kerby. The IVCRT has acted as a catalyst for the Kerby Drinking Water Project around which citizens of Kerby have formed an ad hoc committee for the purpose of obtaining a reliable water supply. A grant from the United States Forest Service, through Josephine County, funded a feasibility study that determined that the most attractive option for the Kerby Community is a connection to the Cave Junction Municipal water system. A number of initiatives were undertaken in the area of economic development. The Airport Light Industrial Park project was turned around; contracts have been let and ground breaking is scheduled for the Spring. The Revolving Loan Fund was capitalized by an additional $80,000. The number of awarded loans increased by 155%; presently the portfolio value is $110,296. The Community Market is preparing for its third season as an important venue for marketing local crafts and farm produce. In tourism, a marketing plan update was done, and more importantly, brochures incorporating a new Illinois Valley logo were printed and distributed. Advertisements were strategically placed in state and regional publications with over 1,000 inquiries being generated. Progress toward implementation of the IV River Forks State Park was made in the form of a $30,000 grant from the RIB to the CRT for improving the entrance. The Board made a firm commitment to work toward ensuring the continuation of the CRT beyond the end of the initial SSBG grant in 2004. To facilitate development and implementation of sustainability strategies and investments, a $30,000 grant was obtained from the Regional Investment Fund. Application was made to the U.S. Forest Service for additional funds for this purpose.
Executive Summary, SWCRT: Year 2001 has been a busy one for the Sunny Wolf Community Response Team (SWCRT). Diverse projects were researched, initiated, and developed or completed in the past year, each linked to a strategic action in the year 2000 Strategic Plan Update and Enterprise Community Benchmarks. There was a substantial turnover in Board membership, due to resignations and term limitations, creating a different make-up in approach to the organization, resulting in philosophical shifts in administration. Disagreements within some community groups and individuals led to declining attendance at Board Business meetings in the last half of the year; however, less controversial issues were being discussed in this period, with the community being agreement on the SWCRT focus on business development and job creation. The Executive Director resigned, and recruitment for a replacement resulted in selection of a qualified local applicant who had been a SWCRT Project Coordinator. The new Executive Director has assumed leadership with little disruption to the organization and general approval of the local community. The Board and new Director have been concentrating planning on organizational sustainability and reducing operating costs. The Executive Director has also begun the process of rebuilding liaisons within the community, to put Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley back on the successful track of collaboration which brought national recognition as a "Communities CAN!" Award recipient. The "Communities CAN!" Award was presented to both communities jointly in June 2001 by the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (FICC) and Georgetown University for our collaborative successes in support of services for children and families. FICC represents the United States Departments of Agriculture, Education, Justice, Health and Human Services, and the Social Security Administration. Business Development received a boost with hiring of a part-time Small Business Development Specialist to develop projects, offer one-on-one mentoring support, and community outreach. The Revolving Loan Fund total is $250,515. The number of loans increased 167% from 2000. The present portfolio is $233,415. Applications were made to USDA Rural Development for funding for more small business loans and to develop a Microenterprise/E-Commerce Incubator facility. Referrals and counseling support was given to several Southern Oregon Women's Access to Credit applicants. The biannual update of the "Business and Skills Directory" for Sunny Valley and Wolf Creek was completed and distributed through local businesses, organizations and the post office. Human Resources information and program outreach has continued through the Big News publication, which shares county and local human resource support service information via direct mail to all households and P.O. boxes in Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley. Human Resource needs are also supported by our Sunny Wolf Community Van and the new Translink rider service, both of which provide transport for low-income individuals for personal and medical needs. The van was used three days a week to transport children to the Oregon Parent Center (OPC) young child development classes. Another small bus was secured by from the Rogue Valley Transportation District and was donated to our spin-off organization, the OPC for their use. Our Wolf Creek Teen Center, serving 120 local children between the ages of 8 and 20, received $62,800 in grant funding to expand the facility and support its continued operation. Membership in the Teen Center increased by 30% in 2001. We continued our support of the Wolf Creek Chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of Josephine County through additional funding for another year. The SWCRT has also provided education opportunities by continuing to staff our Community Tech Lab project, and giving matching funds to the expanding satellite G.E.D. program offered locally by Rogue Community College. Our efforts to increase job training and work opportunities have been undertaken in support the Natural Resources and Business Development parts of our Strategic Plan. We collaborated with a countywide coalition to seek grant funding for a rural technology center program. Infrastructure was improved by the construction the Sunny Valley Fire Station. The fire station is equipped with medical and fire equipment and one engine. Partial funding for a water tender for this station has been secured, and the remaining funding approved by SOREDI through the Rural Investment Fund (RIF), a State of Oregon program for economic development supported by state lottery funds. Funding for equipment and training for both the Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District and the Sunny Valley Fire Station was sought and partially approved by SOREDI and USDA Rural Development. A Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to build a new branch library for Wolf Creek was obtained; the SWCRT is administering the CDBG grant and the project is proceeding. We are active participants in the Translink transportation brokerage to provide medical transportation to northern Josephine and southern Douglas counties. A community meeting was held to move forward on the Rural Unincorporated Communities Plan for both Wolf Creek and Sunny Valley, an essential step for development of the water and sewer projects for Wolf Creek. The SWCRT collaborated with the IVCRT for a Regional Investment Fund (RIF) grant to develop and implement sustainability strategies for both organizations. RIF awarded our partner, IVCRT $30,000 for this project. Additional funding was sought from the USDA Forest Service. Natural Resources and Environment goals were more aggressively pursued than in previous years, with the hiring of a project coordinator to assess local needs and implement projects. Grant applications were submitted to develop and employ up to 20 local workers in sustainable jobs that implement forest health and fuel hazard reduction treatments, recover small diameter material by-products of these treatments and create a line of "Value-Added" wood products to be manufactured locally. We received a $28,500 grant to perform community fire planning, which will lead to definition of sites to seek funding for work to reduce fire hazards in the area. Several small projects were implemented for local school children and the Golden Coyote Wetlands through coordination with BLM and the local watershed council. Applications for educational programs were made to foundations and Josephine County.
Josephine County EC Summary Page Josephine County EC Funding Page