Citizens meet to discuss community improvement

The City of Kimball has set sights on becoming a Leadership Certified Community (LCC) and, to that end, two community meetings were hosted this past August in partnership with the State of Nebraska Economic Development.

Becoming an LCC allows bonus points for a community that can increase a community's chances of receiving state grant funding for Economic Development projects.

"Although bonus points for grants are a wonderful ad- dition and can assist with projects like Downtown Revi-talization, going through this process is a great internal "purge" process, Special Projects Coordinator Amy Sapp said. "It's a way of getting away from the old and working on updating our community so that we can show that we are ready for growth and can sustain it."

Beyond that, the program opens doors for growth, vi-

ability, and sustainability, according to Sapp.

Led by Starr Lehl, of Gering, with assistance from Daniel Bennet from Panhandle Area Development District (PADD) and Sapp, information gathered during the meeting included the community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.

PADD is currently constructing the analysis from the recent meetings and the final product is expected soon. Input from the public will be used to help prioritize the needs of the community, according to Sapp, who added that a strategic plan for Economic Development will allow the community to create and attain goals.

Some additional requirements to become an LCC have been kept current, such as the Comprehensive Plan the City updated in 2016, the current zoning and subdivision ordinances and the recent Brownfields Inventory which

identifies commercial and industrial properties that have been rendered unusable. Additionally, Kimball took part in a regional housing study to determine housing needs in the city.

Still, more work is needed, according to Sapp, who listed program requirements that have not yet been completed locally.

·Complete a community needs assessment demonstrating community-wide involvement. This assessment ensures that community feedback was considered as the city moves forward to become an LCC.

·Develop a community strategic plan using the information from the needs assessment. This not only identifies the community's priorities but will assign responsibility to who, how, and when things will be accomplished, Sapp said.

·Complete a community pro le.Though Kimball has a community pro le, Sapp said it is outdated. "Dan (Dean) or I will be attending a meeting this month with others in the region that will discuss the upcoming census and how to make sure that data in our smaller communities is current," Sapp said. "Many people don't feel comfortable sharing personal information or even putting accurate data on these and they don't understand how the data can impact the community. We want to make sure that we are taking necessary steps to make sure our community knows the importance of these surveys."

·Develop a capital improvement plan. We talk a lot about capital purchases that are needed in the upcoming years. This will help us provide a working "Blueprint" for sustaining and improving the community's infrastructure.

"Last week Starr (Lehl) and I were on a training session by the International Economic Development Council and they said that if your community does not start making plans for improvements now, your community will not survive the next 15 years," Sapp said.

·Develop building codes, code enforcement, and a building permit process. Though Kimball has building codes, there was a lack of enforcement, according to Sapp. Now, with a Community Service Offcer, the city can focus on improvement.

"Our community was its own worst enemy in letting some of the commercial and residential properties get to the condition that they are in," Sapp said.

·Update and maintain a consistent presence on Location One Information System (LOIS). Sapp is planning a monthly coffee session with local realtors to stay abreast of which buildings are currently for sale. "I am trying to develop a detailed spreadsheet for them so that they know and can provide me with the information needed for the LOIS website," she added.

·Establish and implement an active Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program. Currently, 29 visits have been completed in the past year and the BRE program has been documented. "My understanding from the Nebraska Economic Development is that this wasn't being done on a consistent basis in the past," Sapp said. "We are waiting for a summary of the data that has been sent to them this year, which will give us an overall summary of the business climate in our area. It will also show us if there are any trends that we need to focus on or assist with."

·Develop a resource list for businesses, including nancial and technical assistance programs and providers. "This is what I refer to as an eco-system," Sapp said. "It's something that every community should have. We are working region- ally and locally to provide businesses better support in order to help them sustain."

The City is also required to update and maintain a consistent online presence, including a community website, which Sapp is currently working on and she hopes to have the website complete by the end of the year.

"I'm currently working on mapping our current content and desired content so that we can make sure our website is a one-stop-shop for any information needed in this community," Sapp said.

Sapp views the process to become an LCC as building a better foundation for Kimball, so that, once complete, a big- ger, better future can be built.

"In order to make this community successful we need to work on our foundation," she said.