The MCCF plans to meet with Cathy Cooney of the Montana Community Foundation on June 26th at 7 pm in the Meagher County Courthouse. Cathy will address investment strategies and considerations for growing the MCCF. All are welcome to attend!
As the MCCF has worked toward implementation of the community vision, a variety of organizations and resource providers have been called upon for their insights, programs, and assistance. Here are just a few of the folks that have helped MCCF make decisions about community action:
The Meagher County Community Foundation has teamed up with the City of White Sulphur Springs to host a second Clean Up day in White Sulphur Springs. The annual Clean Up day is hosted on an alternating schedule by either the city or the county. This year, it is the City’s responsibility to host the clean up day.
Because residents have to pay for dumping, the City/County Clean-Up Day provides an opportunity for residents to get rid of bulky items (such as appliances) or other trash that they might otherwise be reluctant to dump. Those living in poverty are especially reluctant to dump items that will cost a lot to dispose. Offering a second clean up day is an attempt by Horizons and the MCCF to allow people to get rid of additional items and to really clean up this year!
The cost of the additional day of dumping is approximately $3,000. This cost goes to pay for the trucking of the trash out of Meagher County.
In other exciting news, the offer to help with an additional Clean Up Day is adding new business to the City Council agenda for next month. The city will meet to determine whether they might add approximately $15 in charges to the city water bills for dumping. Most people in the city pay Disposal Services for their trash collection, however, there are many who opt not to pay for dumping services. At least one city council member believes that, if people are already paying for dumping, they may be more likely to haul their trash out of town. There are currently a number of residents to “hoard” their trash for the year and use the free dumping day to get rid of their trash. The city is also suggesting that the fee imposed on the water bills would provide a voucher for a free day of dumping to each resident of the city. The city is very sensitive to the needs of those in poverty and is concerned that even $15/month might stress some residents. However, the current state of trash disposal in the community is creating health and safety concerns for some areas of town (hoarding trash contributes to rodent and pest infestations) and this action might help to eliminate that problem.
After much deliberation, the MCCF board has developed a plan for spending Horizons monies! The board spent much time debating the best means of making visible change in the community, while also addressing issues of poverty. The consensus of the board was that we need to beautify the community so that people can start to have pride in living here. However, they also allocated funds to paying partial wages for a low-income job in the community and also developing a community garden that will help to provide fresh produce for the food bank.
Watch the Meagher County News for more information on these exciting investments in our community!
The first mutual self-help housing project has begun in White Sulphur! Working with the Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D and HRDC, a home has been identified for safety improvements and modifications that will help to weatherize the home and improve the structure. The home was damaged in a recent wind storm, so topping the list for work to the home is a new roof. The mutual self-help housing program offers grants and low-interest loans to low income households who need help in making their homes safe and weatherized.
Volunteers will be used to complete the painting of the home. We’ll have to wait for warmer weather, but construction is underway for many of the other improvements!
After postponing the first scheduled meeting of the Meagher County Community Foundation and the Horizons Steering Committee for a conflict, the second planned meeting met with challenges from Mother Nature! A fierce winter storm caused the first meeting to be conducted over the phone!
On February 7, 2008, the new joint efforts of the MCCF and Horizons Steering committee kicked off with some history of both organizations and some discussions about the future. See the minutes for more details!
white-sulphur-springs-visioning.doc
The Horizons Steering Committee has drafted the attached Community Action Plan as a result of the community surveys and community visioning process. The plan will be reviewed by the Meagher County Community Foundation and will also be promoted to the community in January 2008 in order to ensure that community concerns are addressed.
The Horizons Steering Committee is transitioning its leadership role in the community to the Meagher County Community Foundation Board of Directors. The committee has asked nine new members to serve on the foundation board in order to provide new, fresh leadership to the community. The Horizons committee members will have the opportunity to serve on the board as ex-officio members for the first six months in order to ensure continuity between Horizons and the new board. However, the Steering Committee members are excited by the new board. Steering committee member, Sarah Hamlen, reports, “The steering committee has spent many hours planning a transition to a new group of leaders in the community. The new board members are a dynamic group of people who will do a great job in carrying out the action items identified through the Horizons process.”
The newly appointed members of the Meagher County Community Foundation board of directors plan to set off for Billings on January 15-16 to attend the Rural Communities Conference, sponsored by Horizons Across Montana. The board is excited about attending this training because it provides outside perspective as to what might be done to make Meagher County a more thriving place to live. However, the board is also excited by setting a precedent. Notes County Commissioner and board member, Jamie Doggett, “We want to establish that people positions of leadership in the community should receive training on how to carry out the roles they have agreed to assume. By attending this training, board members establish that, with leadership comes a responsibility.”
Board members plan to use this training to gain new ideas and perspectives in order to better implement and modify the community action plan that was drafted following the Horizons Visioning process.
The Meagher County Community Foundation has appointed a new board of directors. This board will serve two purposes for the Foundation. The first is to breath new life into the non-profit organization and the second is to implement the Horizons Community Action Plan that was developed through the Horizons Visioning process. New board members include County Commissioner Jamie Doggett, County Commissioner Bernie Lucas, Tary Buckingham, Nancy Hereim, Hal Haugen, Judy Berg, City Commissioner, Frank Boyd, and Gene Richeson.
The Community Foundation was created to provide community members a means of re-investing in the communities of Meagher County. The organization has supported recent efforts of Friends of the Bair, the Ranchers to the Rescue, and work of local humanities groups. The Meagher County Commissioners anticipate that the new board members will increase the relevance of this organization and help to ensure that the hard work of the Meagher County Horizons Steering Committee is carried forward.