1999 Annual Report Executive Summary*
Beadle & Spink Enterprise Community
BASEC has completed the fifth year of this ten-year initiative. BASEC has structured their loan programs and funds leveraged from other sources to provide an on-going income stream that will sustain the project now that the initial SSBG funds are fully expended. Approximately $14 million have been leveraged from other sources for a multitude of EC projects - - almost 5 times the initial SSBG EZ/EC funding. $4.9 million of BASEC's revolving loan funds have been utilized for 152 loans, creating and/or saving 185 jobs since 1996. The revolving loan program encompasses the areas of business development, rural development, livestock and housing. A total of $486,325 was loaned out in 1999. This is approximately a half million dollars less than what was loaned out in 1998. While BASEC has helped make progress in economic development and opportunities for EC residents, the sagging farm economy still remains, thus affecting the overall viability of all those living in this community.
$208,356 in Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) funds have been passed on to very low and low-income residents for home repair and removal of health and safety hazards. The average grant passed on was $6,000 per home. In 1999, 13 homes were repaired and updated to remove health and safety issues. Since the HPG program inception of August 97, a total of 38 homes have been repaired. BASEC has several other housing loan programs that financed the building of 13 homes and provided for the purchase and or rehabilitation of 21 existing homes since 1996.
Increasing leadership capacity for all ages throughout the BASEC area was emphasized in 1999. Community leadership workshops and activities were held and individual community assistance was made available to all BASEC communities. Over 40 community projects that included a multigenerational approach have been implemented through BASEC's Leadership Pass Through Mini Grant Program. Town beautification, cemetery maintenance & repairs, park improvements, community computer classes, fire safety education and heritage projects such as making a video documentary depicting life in a rural community are among a few of the projects. Two projects that BASEC has assisted occurred with Tulare and Yale's community economic groups. BASEC assisted with grant writing on behalf of these organizations. Both projects were successful in the grant requests. Tulare is putting up a building to be leased to another business. Yale is constructing a community owned café with additional space that a business may also lease. The leadership and community volunteerism that has emerged throughout the BASEC area has been extraordinary.
As projected, BASEC continued to assume more administrative responsibility from the Northeast South Dakota Community Action Program (NESDCAP). While NESDCAP remained BASEC's fiscal agent in 1999, it is anticipated that BASEC will assume the responsibility beginning year 2000. 1999 staffing included three full time positions; an executive director, housing director, and administrative coordinator. One three-fourths time office /clerical person and one part time loan consultant to help with loan packaging completes the employment roster. The administrative policies were reviewed with modest revisions by the board of directors in 1999. BASEC's overall strategic plan and benchmark progress was presented and reviewed by 100 community residents for input. The general consensus was that BASEC was going in the direction that was envisioned with the first strategic plan.
Executive Director Lori Hintz, Housing Director Andrea Torgerson and four board members attended the National USDA Rural Development Training Conference in Memphis, TN in September. Hintz gave a presentation on BASEC's revolving loan program during the conference. She also assisted in the EZ/EC New Directors Training Program held in Washington DC in July sponsored by the EZ/EC Consortium. Additionally, Hintz and Torgerson have been involved in forming the Upper Midwest Consortium of EZ/EC's, an informal networking group of 10 EZ/EC's located in the upper Midwest part of the United States. The EZ/EC Consortium sponsored the initial collaboration meeting in Minneapolis, MN in June.