West Central Mountains Economic Development Council
Meeting Minutes
May 2, 2019, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Idaho First Bank – McCall
Members in Attendance: Sherry Maupin (President), Julie Good (Treasurer), Cynda Herrick (Secretary, VP), Nicole Musgrove, Patty Wold, Linnea Hall (telephonically), Lindsay Harris/Jill Chapman, Thom Sowers, Dave Bingaman, Heather Soelberg, Gene Tyler and Andrew Mentzer (Executive Director).
Members Absent: none
Agenda: Welcome visitors & guests – Delta James, City of McCall
Dylan Martin from Idaho Power confirmed he would like to be a member. He stated that he came to this area in December when Idaho Power consolidated Blake’s position. He will focus on community relations, industrial and residential development. Nicole moved to approve his appointment. Gene seconded. Motion carried
Treasurer’s report: WordPress website will go to rec account; need to determine who has paid invoices for contractor’s position 2019; questioned who had not paid. Gene moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Dave seconded. Motion carried.
Approval of April minutes: Julie moved to approve the minutes for April. Patty seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Invoices – Steve Topple $100, Gary Kucy $100 – 16 started cooking program, 14 completed – lead to 7 hires or improved skills for incumbent employees.
Grants:
- EDPro – due May 24th, up to $30k with 2:1 match required$30K is max, need $15K max, talking to Commissioners on Monday–County administration.
- USDA/EPA rec grant in Donnelly – grant for technical assistance for recreation/tourist economy.
- Yellowpine GEM – received.
- Northlake GEM – received.
- LMCF 2020 broadband ask – will talk to their team this year and submit in 2020.
Fundraising update: Sherry reached out to Midas for $5,000; should ask St. Lukes if they have a grant application–Delta noted that there is an online request portal; Julie will ask Adams County for $5,000 at the end of May; Gene is working on $4,500 from Donnelly LOT; Heather will ask Cascade; somebody will ask Tamarack; Patty will ask for $500; Lindsay will ask McCall Chamber for $1,500.
Economic Summit update: The committee of Julie, Nicole, Patty, Sherry, and Andrew met. They thought we should have a “celebration” themed summit, based on feedback for 2019–highlight projects and celebrate successes as we region.. A “ Vision of Success” table survey; community expectations; a regional conversation empowering others; how to empower the community; a raffle; SBDC train the trainer; may look at Idaho Humanities Council speakers Roster, Gary and Renee as possible emcees.
Electric vehicle charging station resource update: created a web resource that simplifies the process; need a lot of traffic to fund; need a universal connection; should be halfway between Boise and Grangeville. Idaho Power provided excellent guidance and Andrew shared this resource with the communities.
IEDA spring conference update: presented on culinary/pre-apprenticeship platform; talked about BSU findings (Cascade – Natural Resources, New Meadows – construction, McCall – medical field). Working with Anthony at Assessor’s about Urban Renewal Districts–good discussion and met some new contacts, including leadership at AGC.
Youth engagement in government update: seniors are doing a project on affordable housing–Andrew met with Melissa Coriell’s class.
Strategy 1 – JOBS
o Gap analysis update – see above.
Strategy 2 – EDUCATION
o Culinary classes update – done; 2.0 next step is to do the same thing in Cascade next spring. Culinary was to remove barriers for those with 0 experience; opened the door. 3.0 is (1) apprenticeship program. Should be run by the Dept. of Labor and a culinary trainer. (2) Front of house soft skills and POS which could be SBDC training. (3) Discussion about Ambassador Program, Managerial Skills, generational motivation, inspiring success as part of leadership academy.
Strategy 3 – INFRASTRUCTURE/ASSETS
o Fiber conference update – May 17 – basically done; Andrew ran through the list of presenters.
o Cascade ADV biking update – setup on chamber website. Peppershock will do digital marketing starting soon.
o IMBA road tour update – has scheduled meetings in communities, identifying routes in each community.
Strategy 4- PROSPERITY
Round Table, Upcoming Events & Public Comments
Ben Strauss needs another check, Postal Service lost last 2 checks.
Approval to reimburse Steve Stuebner/VCP $125 for printing of IMBA boards. Cynda moved to approve. Nicole seconded. Motion carried.
Gene mentioned partnering with Idaho Community Foundation on non-profit day.
Working with Heather, Judy, and Leslie on MCAR grant.
USDA wants to put money in grant for a marina in Cascade-need to get some traction on processes.
6/5 is entrepreneurship training (in budget) in McCall. $165 for training reimbursement by McCall SBDA.
Lindsay would promote a regional conversation about waste management and recycling 2.0 with Woody Biomass.
Adjourn