The Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission (UMVRDC) is looking for a community development planner to develop and manage projects with cities, counties, and other organizations in the five-county UMVRDC region of Big Stone, Swift, Lac qui Parle, Chippewa and Yellow Medicine Counties.

Education & Experience

Related 4-year degree in community development, planning, urban studies/design, public administration, environmental studies, economics or a related field or at least six years’ experience in the previous fields required.

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate experience or capacity in the following core skill areas:

1. Strong oral and written communications skills, including those related to collaboration, influencing, relationship building and strategic integrative thinking.
2. Ability to work independently and as a multi-disciplinary team of 2-4 other planners.
3. Ability to research, compile and analyze data and present results clearly and effectively.
4. Strong grant writing and administration ability or experience.
5. Strong computer based skills. Additional consideration provided for experience with: Access, SPSS; GIS mapping and analysis; web development and/or editing.
6. Passion for providing excellent customer service.
7. Ability to coordinate and facilitate meetings and public hearings by setting agendas, public notifications, etc.
8. Ability to multi-task and balance multiple projects at once.
9. Ability to draft contracts and proposals.
10. Ability to market RDC services and develop contracts to support RDC services.

About the Position

• See the Job Description for detailed explanation of the position.
• See the Position Profile for a general explanation of this position and the agency.

This is a new position.

Starting salary depending on experience and qualifications.

Benefits include full single health insurance high deductible plan ($3,000 single/$6,000 family maximum),  50% family coverage, full single dental, agency funded health savings account ($1,500 in 2013), life, flexible benefits plan, vacation leave, sick leave, school leave, flexible work scheduling, deferred compensation plan, Roth 457, Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA).

Timing

The position is available starting immediately.

The review of applications begins July 1. This position will remain open until filled.

Job offers are not final until receiving the UMVRDC Board of Commissioners approval and upon successful completion of a background and credit check.

To Apply

• The application is a fillable form PDF. Please fill it out electronically, print a copy, then sign and date it. Application is available here.

• Send application, copies of college transcripts, and cover letter highlighting three things you can bring to the UMVRDC Community Development Team to:

Executive Director
323 West Schlieman Avenue
Appleton, MN 56208
320-289-1981 ext. 1
dawn.hegland@umvrdc.org

Here are three articles written by Jennifer Vogel from MPR:

• Yearning for arts can spur small town economic development
• Slow food, slow travel could build rural tourism
• Old buildings can be cheap foundation for small town arts

There is also a Rural Arts and Culture Summit Facebook page with lots of photos. Visit the page by clicking here.

We will share more stories and photos as they become available, so check back here to our website in the coming weeks.

Attendees of the Rural Arts and Culture Summit get some hands-on inspiration from Michael Strand, noted potter and Department Head and Professor of Art at North Dakota State University.

The Meander is a regional self-guided tour of artist studios, galleries and shops from Benson to Madison, Ortonville to Clara City, and all points in between. The event is free and open to the public.

The 2013 Meander will be held on: 

• Friday, October 4th, from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
• Saturday, October 5th, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and
• Sunday, October 6th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Call 1.866.866.5432 to request a brochure. The Meander website is also updated and can be viewed at www.artsmeander.com, or you can find and “LIKE” us on Facebook!

Comments can be emailed to jacki.anderson@umvrdc.org.

Comments can also be mailed to:

UMVRDC CEDS
323 W. Schlieman Ave
Appleton, MN 56208

For more about the CEDS, visit the CEDS Corner here on our website.

The UMVRDC’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) has recently seen a boost in available funds thanks to our five county boards. The counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine, along with the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), pooled resources to increase funds available for lending.

• For approximately the last year the RLF has had less than 10% of the total available for lending.
• The boost in funding totals $500,000 and already has one loan approved, bringing the current amount available for lending to $400,000.
• New funds bring the RLF’s total portfolio to $1.7 million.
• Today there are nearly 40 loans throughout the region.

UMVRDC staff look forward to assisting businesses in our region with their start-up and expansion needs!

Visit our RLF page here on our website for more information about the RLF, including an application and loan guidelines. You can also contact us at 320-289-1981 and ask for Jacki Anderson (ext. 2) or Dawn Hegland (ext. 1).

“These projects will help communities increase opportunities for children to walk and bike to school,” said MnDOT Commissioner Charlie Zelle. “More students walking and biking means less traffic on the road and in front of schools, improving safety and promoting healthier kids.”
Schools received grants in three categories:

• Planning – Funding to complete a SRTS plan to help analyze existing conditions, gather public input and identify potential infrastructure and non-infrastructure solutions at K-8 schools.
• Non-Infrastructure – Funding for education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation activities.
• Infrastructure – Funding for improving the environment and infrastructure around the schools such as crosswalks and trails.

MnDOT announced the available grants in October 2012. It received 102 applications and funded 43 applications. The total amount requested was $15,451,103.

Grants awarded in Region 6W are:

Planning:

• Clarkfield, Yellow Medicine County – 1 school
• Montevideo, Chippewa County – 2 schools

Non-Infrastructure:

• Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, Swift, Chippewa, Yellow Medicine, & Lac qui Parle counties, 7 schools – Hire a regional coordinator to provide support for education, encouragement and school patrol safety campaigns.

All SRTS grants in this solicitation are federal funds, and no local match is required. Each grant includes a resolution of support from the local governing body to ensure community support. A complete list of grant recipients is available on MnDOT’s website.

Since 2005, MnDOT has awarded nearly $15.5 million in federal funds to communities to support SRTS. The majority of funding—$13.1 million—was awarded for infrastructure projects. The remainder is allocated for non-infrastructure items and activities. MnDOT has about $1 million left from the federal SAFETEA-LU authorization act to distribute in 2015. Safe Routes to School projects occur in all 50 states.

For more information on Safe Routes to School, visit the SRTS page here on our website, or contact UMVRDC Transportation Planner Lindsey Knutson at 320-289-1981 ext. 7 or lindsey.knutson@umvrdc.org.

You can also find more information on the MnDOT website at  www.mndot.gov/saferoutes.

“Last week I got to spend a couple of days in Lac qui Parle County. LqP is home to a ARRA-funded fiber to the home network. It’s also home to a couple of businesses who are making good use of Facebook and other social media channels. I thought it might be fun to hear from two businesses (The Cellar Door and Crazy About Purses) about how and why Facebook has been working for them.”

Watch the video clips by clicking here!

Greg Schwaegerl, Public Works Director for the City of Montevideo, will receive the award of behalf of the City on Thursday, June 13th at the ASFPM Annual Convention in Hartford, CT.

The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) began in 1977 as the supporting organization of professionals involved in floodplain management, flood hazard mitigation, flood preparedness, and flood warning and recovery. It is the mission of the Association to mitigate the losses, costs and human suffering caused by flooding and to promote wise use of the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains. Today the ASFPM is the premier voice in floodplain management practice and policy throughout the nation. Over 6,500 national and chapter members represent local, state and federal government agencies, citizen groups, private consulting firms, academia, the insurance industry, and lenders. ASFPM’s influence is expressed through policy and practice changes that impact floodplain management in the U.S. and internationally. Their goals are simple: to help the public and private sectors:

• reduce the loss of human life and property damage resulting from flooding;
• preserve the natural and cultural values of floodplains;
• promote flood mitigation for the prevention of loss and the wise use of floodplains; and
• avoid actions that exacerbate flooding.

For more information contact:

Steve Jones, City Manager, or
Angie Steinbach, Community Development Director
City of Montevideo
103 Canton Avenue, P.O. Box 517
Montevideo, MN 56265
320-269-6575

or

Association of State Floodplain Managers, Inc.
575 D’Onofrio Drive, Suite 200
Madison, WI 53719
608-828-3000

The program is part of a larger campaign to bring broadband to rural areas, and to make that technology more readily accessible to the local population as a whole. The UMVRDC was one of 11 demonstration communities for the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) program. The Lac qui Parle Computer Commuter was the local recipient of $25,000 in MIRC project funds.

Currently the Center for Small Towns is employing two students to create an analysis of the Lac qui Parle Computer Commuter’s system to help improve and benefit the program.

Interested in learning more?

The Lac qui Parle Computer Commuter is online here: http://www.lqpeda.com/broadband-initiative/computer-commuter/

The Center for Small Towns is available for questions, inquiries, suggestions or comments by calling 320-589-6451 or emailing cst@morris.umn.edu

UMVRDC’s work in the MIRC program has been documented for our website, and is available here: http://umvrdc.org/what-we-do/programs/minnesota-intelligent-rural-communities/

You can also talk with any of our community development planners by calling 320-289-1981 or by emailing info@umvrdc.org.

The Lac qui Parle Computer Commuter

The University of Minnesota is seeking non-metro communities and townships of less than 1,500 for a special project over the next 18 months aimed at boosting a community’s long-term destination appeal. This project will help small communities across Minnesota discover opportunities to develop community assets for sustainable tourism. 

Why?  Expanding regional assets can attract more visitors or keep them longer in your region. The Minnesota Sustainable Tourism Assessment for Small Communities project combines the Tourism Center’s proven tourism assessment tools with community visits.  The project is sponsored by the University’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Tourism Center.

• Applications are due by noon on May 15, 2013. 
• Click here for more information including what is expected of your community, the process, timeline, and application.
• Cities over 1,500 click here for a Tourism Assessment Program available to all cities.

The UMVRDC is here to help! We have tourism planners and community development planners on staff that can assist you with this project, and we’d love to help! Contact Kristi Fernholz at 320-289-1981 ext 6 or Kristi.fernholz@umvrdc.org or Jenifer Fadness at 320-289-1981 ext 5  or Jenifer.fadness@umvrdc.org for more information.