Welcome to MEDA Online News

Welcome to MEDA Online News. The purpose of this webpage is to serve as a communication link within the MEDA membership. It is to be a member-to-member site to inform MEDA Members as to news within our organization. Let’s keep it simple: MEDA will send you an email to let you know when articles have been updated. If you would like to submit an article, an idea, a comment—please do. Let’s keep in touch and keep our network strong. Previous editions: January 2006; February 2006;    March 2006;   April 2006;
May 2006;   June 2006;  July 2006; August 2006;

AUGUST 2006


CRDC Spotlight is on the Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D, which serves both Park and Gallatin County. Overall, Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D provides services to Park, Gallatin and Meagher counties. Josh Kellar is the Director for NRM RC&D and J.T. Smith, formerly of Beartooth RC&D is the Economic Development Coordinator for the organization.

With his typical enthusiasm, J.T. said the CRDC is involved in "tons" of projects -- from weeds to wind energy, economic impact of fuel reduction, movie deals and something to do with cow manure and an anaerobic digester. (Once manure was mentioned, this town girl dropped the subject.) One of the CRDC's biggest goals is to complete a regional CEDS so it can qualify as an Economic Development District. It helps that each county already has its own CEDS and work is nearly completed in obtaining the regional picture.

Several communities are benefiting directly from the Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D/CRDC efforts. West Yellowstone (a recipient of a Resource Team Assessment, I must add) with assistance from the CRDC, has now formed the West Yellowstone Economic Development Corporation. The group is already moving forward and planning a painted buffalo project for a fund raiser. In addition, following up on an idea mentioned in the Resource Team report, Big Sky Economic Development Trust Funds have been obtained for a feasibility study for a college for West Yellowstone. The city has so much lodging (especially off season) and other resources to offer, that a host facility/college setting may be feasible.

The Cooke City Community Center is also benefiting from CRDC efforts with plans for a visitor's center and public restrooms built on to the center.

Overall, J.T. said CRDC funding, in conjunction with the Big Sky Trust fund, along with support from the staff of MDOC has made a huge impact on the area.

MEDA Membership Update: MEDA is currently 207 members strong. New members for the month of July: Chris Brink and Chris Mehus (Beartooth RC&D), Kevann Elletson-Campbell (Hill County Electric and Triangle Telephone Co-ops), Patti Gregerson (Kalispell Chamber of Commerce), Nancy Guccione (MDOC/WIRED), Andrew Zdinak (Butte Local Development Corp.) and Joe LaPlante (Bear Paw Development Corp.)  Welcome to MEDA!  
      Print the updated Membership Directory.  

Grant and Funding Opportunities:
Thank you, Linda Beck (Big Sky EDA) for sharing information on a new rural funding source. The program is called Agriventures - Agriculture and Rural Community Bonds and is designed to "support agriculture, agribusiness, rural housing, or economic development, infrastructure, or community development and revitalization projects in rural areas.” The program is available through Northwest Farm Credit Services and is a 3-year pilot program with a $300 million allocation. Investment authorities (FCA approved) expanded their eligibility scope in rural communities to include Agriculture and Agribusiness, Rural Infrastructure, Rural Housing and Essential Community Facilities. For more information, contact Jim Lee (406) 651.1707.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is issuing a "Call for Grant Applications" under Section 319(h) of the Federal Clean Water Act. The DEQ is the lead Montana agency for the Nonpoint Source program and for the Clean Water Act Section 319 grant program. Over $1 million in grant funds are available to watershed groups and local governments. More information about the grants, including the 303(d) lists of impaired waters, the official call, and application materials, can be found at the DEQ web site at www.deq.mt.gov. The deadline for draft applications is September 29, 2006.

Working Groups...Are Working!: The Technology Transfer Working Group met with a small committee of the MEDA Board to discuss Montana's tech transfer needs. This working group will make a presentation at the fall conference so that MEDA Members are brought up-to-date on this critical piece of economic development. Other working groups that have met or are carrying on email discussions include: Native American Economic Development Partnerships, Brownfields and Environmental, Scholarship, Legislative and Workforce and Education.

Training Opportunities: Interested in sharpening your professional skills as an economic and community development practitioner? Here are some outstanding training opportunities.
    BEAR Training - there is still time to sign up!
    IEDC Annual Conference: This year’s conference will feature a track entitled The Cutting Edge of Economic Development: Building Community through Innovative Design and Risk Taking.
    CDFA Announces Tax Increment Financing Practice & Policy Symposium (November 7) & The Tax Credit Finance Course (November 8-9. The program will highlight project-specific and district TIF deals from start to finish, explore guidelines for effective TIF policy and examine mix-used TIF development...and more.
    Heartland Center Training A COME-BACK/GIVE-BACK APPROACH TO RURAL COMMUNITY BUILDING, September 12-14, 2006. Register now for this innovative "train-the-trainers" academy that offers a blueprint to community building and rural development. Learn how public, private and nonprofit groups have achieved stunning results within less than two years.
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For Your Tool Box: Check out these practical resources.

The Montana Nonprofit Association Conference is always a great source of information for those of us that live in the nonprofit world. This year's title is "Vision and Voice" with the notion that the power of many can change the world.

Thanks to Frank Kromkowski for passing this great resource along: A Guide to Assessing Senior Assisted Living Needs in Your Community -- June 2006. A Guide to Assessing Senior Assisted Living Needs in Your Community provides project development information for community, not-for-profit groups, and other providers of housing and services to seniors using Montana housing funding programs and recommends ways to provide more economically sustainable (for the senior residents and for the State) assisted living, while addressing resident’s personal living preferences.

If you are involved in R&D or new product/technology development, or know someone who is.....then you should know about the important conference and workshops coming to Bozeman, Sept. 11 - 13 (Monday - Wednesday). SWIFT stands for SBIR Where Innovation Focuses Technology. Read all about it.

What the Numbers Say: Montana Department of Commerce About this month's feature CRDC region - Park and Gallatin Counties


Searching for some fast facts to include in an article, newsletter, grant application? Check out the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis BEARFACTS which consists of computer-generated narratives for states, counties, and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The narratives describe an area's personal income using current estimates, growth rates, and a breakdown of the sources of personal income. Some sample paragraphs for the counties in the CRDC Spotlight:


Gallatin County - Per Capita Personal Income

In 2004 Gallatin had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $30,560. This PCPI ranked 3rd in the state and was 110 percent of the state average, $27,657, and 92 percent of the national average, $33,050. The 2004 PCPI reflected an increase of 5.6 percent from 2003. The 2003-2004 state change was 5.7 percent and the national change was 5.0 percent. In 1994 the PCPI of Gallatin was $18,224 and ranked 13th in the state. The 1994-2004 average annual growth rate of PCPI was 5.3 percent. The average annual growth rate for the state was 4.5 percent and for the nation was 4.1 percent.

Park County - Earnings by Place of Work

Earnings of persons employed in Park increased from $201,645 in 2003 to $214,324 in 2004, an increase of 6.3 percent. The 2003-2004 state change was 7.4 percent and the national change was 6.3 percent. The average annual growth rate from the 1994 estimate of $151,592 to the 2004 estimate was 3.5 percent. The average annual growth rate for the state was 5.3 percent and for the nation was 5.5 percent. Note: All income estimates with the exception of PCPI are in thousands of dollars, not adjusted for inflation.

To read the full narrative for these counties, or to check out other counties, go to CEIC's BEA web page at http://ceic.mt.gov/bea.asp, click on BEARFACTS and follow BEA's instructions. BEA's interactive web site allows you to compare the year of your choice (1979-2004) with a year that falls ten years prior, for example 2004 compared to 1994. A clickable state map will guide you. If you need assistance, please contact CEIC staff at 841-2740, email ceic@mt.gov, or visit our web site at http://ceic.mt.gov.

MEDA Conference Update: Mark your calendars for October 19th and 20th (the statewide teacher's convention) and get ready to enjoy a terrific conference in Havre at MSU-Northern. As energy, transportation and technology are huge issues in the state, the three MEDA Working Groups involved in these topics have been asked to assemble presentations for the conference. More details will be available soon!


MEDA Words of Wisdom from....J.T. Smith, Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D: "Local community champions are key. Without community champions, projects do not have any teeth."



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