Transcript Partners for Rural America Futures Committee

A Presentation to PRA at the PRA Conference
– August 2014
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Current and emerging rural vitality issues for
states and nationwide
Successful rural development approaches and
practices that would benefit other councils
Actions & activities PRA can take to support
councils and have a greater voice in the
national rural development arena
Recommendations for current and long-term
initiatives for PRA
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Economic Development & Job Creation
Education / Workforce Development
Rural Broadband Deployment & Infrastructure
Access to Quality Healthcare
Support/Promotion of Local Food & Sustainable
Agriculture-based Industries
Entrepreneurship Support
Expansion of Telemedicine
Blight Elimination Strategies and Resources
Youth Retention
Resource-based Industry Development
Positioning Locally-owned, Rural Businesses to Integrate
into Rural Tourism & Economic Development Efforts
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Sharing state legislative successes that could be duplicated
in other states
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Collectively looking at opportunities from USDA or other
federal programs
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Sharing successful regional initiatives that have addressed
specific problems
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Providing a collective source of research performed by
other states and findings
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Legislative and policy research
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Sharing innovative programs and business models
developed in other states
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Identifying Funding Opportunities for Rural America
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Distribute information via press releases and
social media on a more consistent basis
More consistently serve as a conduit between
state councils and USDA and other federal
organizations
Provide best practices to be disseminated
among state councils
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Current: Focus on workplan
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Short Term: Create new/update website to be
more attractive and user-friendly
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Long Term: Develop a Strategic Plan for PRA
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Long Term: Grow the number of state
councils and encourage increased
engagement
Long Term: Become the central repository for
council activities and programming
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Sustainable Agriculture, Local Food &
Agri-business development
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Workforce Development
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Placemaking and Land Use Strategic Planning
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Youth Engagement
• Local First Arizona Foundation’s
Focus:
– AZ Rural Development Council
• Rural Policy Forum
• AZ M.A.S.H Program – focus on education,
youth retention and healthcare
• Rural Community Profiles
• Strategic Plan includes Focus on Agriculture
and Local Food in Rural Arizona
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National Trends Point to:
◦ Increased demand for local food
◦ Focus on sustainable agriculturebased industry development
◦ Development of innovative businesses
and entrepreneurship around local
food and ag.
◦ An resurgence in interest in small,
independent farming practices
◦ State involvement and support
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Local Food / Ag Business /
Farmers Market Support and
Outreach
◦ Local Food / Ag statewide
membership base = 450
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Statewide Local Foods
Coordinator
Local Food Events
Business Connections
Involvement in Regional Ag
Activities
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Statewide Agriculture / Local Food Newsletter
Statewide Agriculture Directory
Food and Farm Finance Forum
Assistance with Food Hub Feasibility Studies
Farmer Chef Connection Event
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Rural Arizona has a real need for developing local
food systems and sustainable agriculture economies
◦ Awareness in rural communities among consumer;
Development of a “locavore” consumer base
◦ Developing more networking opportunities and
connections among producers and buyers & others
involved in the Ag Economy
◦ Financial Resources
◦ Educational Resources
◦ Focus on Ancillary Agriculture Businesses as Economic
Drivers statewide
◦ Support from State Leaders / Legislature
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Resource Sharing among Councils:
◦ related to successful Local Food and Sustainable Ag
programs and policies and best practices
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Technical Assistance to Councils:
◦ for working with State Legislatures on Food/Ag issues
and policies
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Support for methods to develop demand /
raising awareness among rural consumers
about importance of local food
Funding Research and Coordinated Grant
Strategies
◦ Especially for building local food systems in states
that are “behind the national curve”
K-12, College
and
Workforce
Training
Entrepreneurship
Broadband
Economic
Development
& Job
Creation
Access to Quality
& Specialty
Healthcare
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Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC)
◦ Wholesale telecommunications company formed to
create an advanced open-access fiber-optic
network for Southern Virginia.
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Tobacco Commission Infrastructure Funding
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Capital Costs versus Funding Formula
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Telecommunications Regulatory Environment
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Permitting & Siting Issues
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Last Mile
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2014 General Assembly
◦ Workgroup Legislation
◦ Rural Caucus
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Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson
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Telecommunications Working Group
Stakeholder Engagement
Regulatory and Policy Initiatives
Administrative Action
Summit Focus
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White House Infrastructure Fund (July 2014)
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Connect America II (June 2014)
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Healthcare Connect Fund (January 2013)
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USDA
◦ $10 billion dollar fund to promote rural economic development by
increasing access to capital for rural infrastructure projects and
speeding up the process of rural infrastructure improvements.
◦ Provides a framework for competitive providers to bid for support
to deploy broadband and voice services in high-cost unserved
areas of the country.
◦ Support for broadband connectivity and broadband networks for
eligible health care providers (HCPs). 35% HCP contribution
required.
The MIPlace
Partnership Initiative
www.MIplace.org
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Placemaking is about creating or transforming
places that people don’t want to leave.
• That goes for our older
central cities, many
small and rural towns
and our suburbs.
• Placemaking is actionoriented, reform-based
and part of a long-term
plan.
What do people want?
Places with Live-Work-Play “Mix”
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Dynamic living environment with ACTIVITY and
ACTIVITIES:
Recreation, parks, outdoors, local food, sports, water,
greenery cultural amenities, social interaction.
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Diverse lifestyle with lots of CHOICES:
 Multi-modal transportation (especially transit)
 Housing type and range of prices, density range.
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Proximity for business & entrepreneurial
CONNECTIONS:
Creativity, risk taking, market innovation, high wage jobs.
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Strategic Placemaking is targeted to creation
of quality Places in limited locations through
coordinated plans of:
– Regional economic development entities (regional
strategic plans)
– Local communities (master plans & sub-area or
project plans at the site level)
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Targeted locations are:
– Centers
– Nodes
– Corridors
Regional
Local
Project
Why we are so focused on the role of Placemaking in
economic and community development?
– Michigan job loss between 2000 and 2009 was
860,400 jobs or 18.3%
– If we use same business approach, it will take 21
years to get back to 2001 employment levels
– Michigan unemployment was the national high
at 14.2% in August 2009, compared to 9.6% for
the nation – 4th highest 2014
– Michigan was the ONLY state to lose population
– 54,804 or 0.6% between 200 and 2010
– This resulted in loss of talented workers to other
states, and less for us to attract new businesses.
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The goal of The MIplace Partnership Initiative is
to create more jobs, attract and retain residents,
and raise incomes at least in part, through
targeted local and regional Placemaking
activities; thereby restoring prosperity in
Michigan.
www.MIplace.org
MIplace Components
Policy
Implementation
Education & Training
Placemaking Curriculum
What is
Placemaking?
Strategies
that
create
places
where
people
want to
live, work,
play and
learn
Who is
participating?
MSHDA, MEDC
DNR, DEQ
MDOT, MDARD
Land Bank
Sense of Place
Council
Local Officials &
Stakeholders
What are the
targeted
activities?
Local Engagement
& Visioning
Arts & Culture
Green & Other
Public Spaces
Transit
What are the
outcomes?
Great
Places
Household
increases
Talent
increases
Increased
Investment
Redevelopment
Return
Public Cost
Efficiencies
Led and Coordinated by MSHDA
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Maryland is uniquely situated in its
proximity to the Chesapeake Bay.
A major effort to clean up decades of
pollution and restore its grasses and
oyster, crab and rockfish populations.
◦ The State is currently under an EPA order to
meet certain nutrient thresholds.
◦ Each county is given a nutrient “diet” called
TMDL or Total Maximum Daily Load
◦ Each county is allowed a certain amount of
nitrogen, phosphorus or sediment that may
enter the watershed
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We are also a heavily urbanized small state and are
losing acres of land to development
◦ By 2035, Maryland is projected to grow by 1 million residents
◦ Maryland is on pace to lose an additional 176,000 acres of
forest and 226,000 acres of farmland by 2035
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Only 2 counties qualify as “rural” under many federal
grant programs
◦ A handful of additional counties qualify for federal grants as
“economically distressed”
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One of our significant barriers to support agriculture is
the lack of affordable land.
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See preserving large contiguous parcels of land as an
economic development issue
◦ Tourism in our rural areas are reliant on preserving its rural
character
◦ Also historical value i.e. Civil War tourism
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In recent years, the Legislature has
enacted a number of laws to address land
use:
◦ Centralized planning authority at the
state level instead of at the local level
◦ Created a state-wide tier map
designating growth and conservations
areas
◦ Banned septic systems for major and
some smaller subdivisions
◦ Enacted stormwater management fees
for the major populations centers
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The state is considering new regulations:
◦ enforcing stricter nutrient management rules
including a controversial phosphorus
management tool for farmers
◦ creating a cap and trade system for new
development
Sustainable Growth Commission
◦ Established by the Maryland General Assembly in 2010,
makes recommendations on growth and development
issues
◦ Considering an infill and redevelopment policy
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The State allocates recordation fees and transfer tax
revenue for land preservation.
Several programs including:
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Program Open Space
Rural Legacy
Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
In Fiscal Year 2015, the State allocated $76,153,966 in funding
for these programs
Also designated Priority Funding areas to target state
resources
Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industries
Development Corporation, also known as MARBIDCO.
◦ In FY 2015, MARBDICO received approximately $2.8 million to
loan to farmers and food processors for land acquisition
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Maryland’s rural areas see a huge decline in
population of young people between the ages
of 18-35
Recognize that revitalization of rural areas
depends upon engaging young people who
put down roots and invest in the future of
their communities.
One idea is to engage our youth and allow
them to have a voice in local planning so that
after they get their education, they choose to
stay or come back to our rural communities
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Working with the Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship
Began our project by focusing on a three-county
area on the Upper Eastern Shore
Chose a local partner to help facilitate
◦ Upper Shore Regional Council
Developed a list of local champions to help
communicate with local school administrators
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Local economic development officers
Local chambers of commerce
Local management boards
Local Boards of Education
Hosted a webinar with local champions to give project
overview and outline expectations
Developing web-based survey that will be given
to 6 – 12 graders in public and private schools
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Will conduce focus groups of students in the
three county area
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship will analyze
survey results and draft a final report
Will host regional town halls with students
and local leaders to discuss results and ways
to incorporate students ideas and perceptions
into local economic and comprehensive plans
Expect project to be complete in December
2014
Have interest in other jurisdictions to
continue with conducting the project in other
rural areas