Manhattan striding toward stronger economy

MANHATTAN — For the past few months, people have been dreaming up big ideas for improving the town’s economy.

Now, they have solid plans.

They want to prepare the sewer system for growth. They want to attract new businesses and support those already here. They want to build a community center.

By ERIN NICHOLES Chronicle Staff Writer

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/06/14/news/manhattanbzbigs.txt

And those goals are well within reach, Mayor Eleanor Mest said Thursday.

"Manhattan has been a community that didn’t give a lot of involvement in the past, but we have some newer people living here now and they’re going to be active enough to make this happen," she said.

About 30 business people, town officials and others met Thursday, for the last time, with a Rural Resource Team, which has spent the past few months helping this town of about 1,400 plan a successful future.

At the meeting, the government-funded team helped Manhattan nail down specific projects.

"Pick something, and get to work on it," said Gloria O’Rourke, with the Anaconda-based nonprofit Montana Economic Development Association, which organizes the Rural Resource Team.

Community members have said they want hotels, fast-food restaurants, Internet coffee shops, bowling alleys and medical facilities. Many of those businesses closed in recent years, leaving people to drive to Bozeman or Belgrade for services.

Those at the meeting — who included developers, antique shop and bookstore owners, bankers and health care providers — started breaking trail toward three specific projects.

Manhattan needs to upgrade its sewer system to make room for new homes and businesses; producers need a buy-local campaign and a cottage-industries cooperative to promote business; and residents need a community center to network with other residents, the group decided.

And, the community needs to tackle those goals right away.

"We’re all on the same track and ready to move forward (on projects); I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm right now to start working on it," said Cathy Coleman, vice president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber’s revitalization committee invited the team to Manhattan in April to find out why the business district is shrinking as the population is growing. The team provides to rural towns for free a service for which larger cities often pay tens of thousands of dollars.

The process opens lines of communication, helps identify common goals and outlines avenues for reaching them. Manhattan’s next step, rallying volunteers, is a tough one, but O’Rourke will check in periodically to see how things are progressing.

The team has visited 24 rural Montana towns, and Manhattan is among the most likely to succeed, O’Rourke said. The town already has drawn a new medical clinic, appointed a youth liaison to the chamber and made strides toward other goals.

"It works if the town is ready for it, and Manhattan is more than ready for it," O’Rourke said. "It just takes a champion or two."

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If your community would like to take advantage of this excellent program, please contact Gloria O’Rourke at:

Montana Economic Developers Association

118 E. Seventh St.; Suite 2A

Anaconda, MT 59711

Phone: 406.563.5259

Fax: 406.563.5476

E-Mail:

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