Iowa Great Place designation in the works
Greene County Ambulance is on track to be “in business” officially March 1. Longtime Greene County EMS director Dennis Morlan’s retirement will be effective that day at 12 am.
Lacy Brubaker, interim director of Greene County Ambulance, reported to the Greene County supervisors on Monday that an onsite inspection required for the new ambulance service’s certification will be done next week.
She and the supervisors are in the process of hiring staff. Current Greene County EMS staff was required to apply for jobs, and others have applied, as well. Greene County Ambulance employees will be county employees and receive the same insurance benefits as other county employees.
Also at Monday’s meeting the supervisors agreed to sign a letter of support for an application to designate Greene County as an Iowa Great Place.
The designation would make Greene County eligible for grant funds from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund through the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
Greene County Development Corporation will be the sponsor and authorized applicant of the grant. Partners are Jefferson Matters: Main Street, the Bell Tower Community Foundation, Thomas Jefferson Gardens and Greene County Chamber and Tourism. Staff of Region XII Council of Governments is writing the application.
Communities must have completed a visioning process to be eligible for Iowa Great Places designation. That requirement was met by the Vision 2020 process done two years ago.
According to Ken Paxton, GCDC executive director, the designation will be a useful marketing tool for the county, particularly for bus tours.
According to the Department of Cultural Affairs, the program seeks “to recognize communities that take action to enhance their local places while staying true to what makes them unique.” The program’s goals are to “cultivate the unique and authentic qualities of Iowa neighborhoods, districts, communities and regions in order to make them great places to live and work…”
Iowa Great Places communities have access to professional development training, technical assistance opportunities, networking, and other state and local resources.
A designated community can submit up to three grant applications each year but can receive only one grant every five years. The average grant awarded from 2012-2017 was $185,331.
The Raccoon River Valley Trail achieved Iowa Great Place designation in 2014.
