Partners discuss economic strategy, tourism

Mission West Community Development Partners (MWCDP) hosted a bi-annual meeting with partnering counties last week in Plains. It is the first meeting MCDWP has held under their new and expanded name change. The meeting served as an opportunity to provide regional updates and discuss new funding resources.

Jim Thaden, MWCDP Executive Director, told the regional partners that abundant resources are available. “Funding has really opened up because of COVID-19,” Thaden said. “There’s new money coming available to help rural communities.” He said the State of Montana and the treasury department will have new resources opening up, as well as resources coming from the Biden administration. “We are so used to being limited to the idea of resources not being available,” Thaden said. “We have to think outside the box. We have to think about collaboration between counties and cities.” Thaden told regional partners they can expect an increase of collaboration from MWCDP as funding opportunities become more accessible to the region.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) presented funding options from different programs they offer and a rundown on the types of projects they can fund. Caroline Plante, Economic Development Specialist for EDA, and Kirk Keysor, Economic Development Representative in Montana and Wyoming, spoke virtually, saying projects the EDA funds can be quite broad as long as developed projects fit within one of the listed priorities for the programs. Under EDA’s planning programs, partnership and short-term planning grants are available. The EDA representatives discussed the Public Works Program and Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA), aimed at helping revitalize economically distressed communities. “The EAA is the most flexible bucket of money we have,” Keysor stated.

Lisa Fried de Reyes, Sanders County Community Housing Organization (SCCHO) Executive Director, provided an update on the land in Noxon that was donated to the organization in 2020. Fried de Reyes says they finally own the land and will be looking at housing models in the near future. SCCHO will be assessing the needs in the Noxon community as the project progresses. “We want to bring in housing that is affordable for the Noxon area and we are hoping to do that soon,” she said.

Brown also gave an update on the work he has been doing for SCCDC. “I really want to support this community the best way I can,” he said. In partnership with Sanders County Coalition on Aging, Brown successfully implemented the Montana Aware Campaign, as he worked to distribute free signage, face coverings and hand sanitizer throughout the county. In 2019, Thompson Falls was one of 10 communities in the country chosen for the EPA’s pilot planning assistance program called Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC). Brown served as the hub to connect interested stakeholders as they worked to attain the funds. Now that a report has been generated, implementing key steps toward improving outdoor recreation for both residents and tourists is next. “We want to maintain a quality of life, but we also have to recognize people are coming,” said Brown.

The regional partners also discussed tourism. Brown said Sanders County partners agreed to form an official tourism taskforce with the goal of increasing tourism. “We are going to approach tourism not just as Sanders County, but as a region."

We are going to attack it from a regional perspective, which is really exciting,” Brown stated. Now that the partnering counties are working to collaborate for funding, they will focus on what they can do together as a region. That ultimately leads to organizations looking for funding opportunities that overlap one another giving more of a return to the community leaders. “Now we have to think big,” said Brown.