1999 Annual Report Executive Summary*
Chambers County Enterprise Community
The Chambers County Enterprise Community has made outstanding progress in
implementing its Benchmarks over the past twelve months. The Community Board had
a very good strategic plan, but was slow to begin putting their plan into
motion. Part of that was due to a change in employees working with the
Enterprise Community through the lead entity, the East Alabama Regional Planning
and Development Commission. The second program facilitator, David (Shaw) Umling,
did an exceptional job of organizing the Board and assisting them to make
decisions, which consequently resulted in progress on their Benchmarks. The
Board, by its own actions, has been limited to 32 members. Often, it is
difficult to have that many people agree. They are a diverse group and are a
fair representation of the Enterprise Community.
The Enterprise Community probably has not done enough to promote its successes,
though what has been reported has been accurately reported. An increased
emphasis on this is planned for the coming year. One of the major problems
encountered is that the two municipalities in the Enterprise Community and the
Chambers County Commission are unable to provide financial support. The
financial problems of these entities have made them unwilling or unable to apply
for other funds, including those under USDA programs, and that has made it very
difficult for the Enterprise Community to leverage funds. The nature of the
programs in the strategic plan, most of which are social programs are not
conducive to leverage funds. Some local governments originally wanted the EC's
federal funds turned over to them for "bricks and mortar" items. When
they found out the form of the funds, their interest unfortunately declined.
Another problem is that most programs cannot be sustained because operating
funds cannot be regenerated. In some cases, the lead entity may agree to accept
responsibility for future maintenance and upkeep. USDA Rural Development
personnel are working diligently with the EC to identify possible sources of
funding to continue these worthwhile programs after the EC funds are exhausted.
Overall, the Enterprise Community, its Board, and Facilitator are doing a good
job, but need to spend more time and effort telling their success stories, which
will help generate more local interest.