The Greene County Development Corporation (GCDC) has set dates of Monday, Sept. 18, and Tuesday, Sept. 19, for meetings with leaders of the county’s industries, businesses, organizations and individuals, too, seeking financial commitments for three years of operations of the new Multicultural Family Resource Center.
The Sept. 18 meeting is in-person and will be held at 5:30 pm in room D101 at the Greene County Career Academy in Jefferson, adjacent to the high school. Those attending should park in the north lot and enter the academy at door N5.
There will be two meetings held Sept. 19 – both online via “Zoom” – the first at 7:30 am and the other at 12:30 pm.
GCDC is asking people who want to attend to RSVP, indicating which meeting they prefer. You can RSVP by a QR code on GCDC flyers and advertisements about the meetings, or by contacting the office by phone at (515) 386-8255 or by email development@greenecountyiowa.com. A link for the online meetings will be provided to those who RSVP.
GCDC’s multicultural initiative, launched two years ago this fall, seeks to grow the workforce and the overall population in all areas of the county. Individuals and families from many cultures will be recruited from across Iowa, the U.S. and beyond. The initiative was planned and developed in a series of public meetings, with much input from major employers, local governments, churches and civic organizations.
It became a reality in late August when GCDC received a USDA Rural Development grant of $95,703 to fund a first year of operation, starting late this fall. It will be called the “Multicultural Family Resource Center.” That funding will include the salary of a full-time director plus other start-up expenses.
The Greene County Community School District has agreed to hire the director, since a fourth or more of that person’s work will be with students and their families from diverse backgrounds.
GCDC is proposing that in the second, third and fourth years of the multicultural center program, costs will be shared by four entities: 1) local employers, organizations and individual donors; 2) the schools; 3) the City of Jefferson, and 4) the Greene County Board of Supervisors.
That’s the reason for the meetings Sept. 18 and Sept. 19, and then follow-up meetings with officials of the Jefferson city government and county government.
As news about GCDC’s proposal for workforce and population growth has spread, there are already signs of significant response.
Multiple contractors are planning new housing developments in Jefferson and other communities around the county.
And Jefferson was recently named one of 11 “Iowa Thriving Communities,” a new designation by the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. That designation means more state financial assistance will be made available to developers with new projects in those communities.
“It’s been a long time since there’s been this much interest in new housing projects in Greene County,” said Chuck Offenburger, a member of the GCDC board and the chairperson of the steering committee for the multicultural initiative. “Community leaders have recognized that we just have to grow, both our workforce and our general population. And we’re already seeing that growth is contagious.
“That’s why it’s important for our employers, organizations and individuals to attend these meetings in mid-September. What we’re asking everybody is to step up now and invest in the future of our communities. We’re already seeing it’s going to be a good investment.” ~by Chuck Offenburger, Multicultural Center steering committee chair
