Blueprint gives Butte update – Free "Butte on the Move" forum on Monday 11/15

In the fall of 2002, economic development efforts were fractured because of a variety of groups working on individual projects, but rarely working together.

Little information was being dissemi-nated among the groups or to the public, hence there were some accomplishments, but the city was not moving in a unified direction.

By Gerard O’Brien of the Standard Staff

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/11/14/featuresbusiness/hjjfiiighhfiei.txt

The Blueprint for Change economic development effort — comprising members of the local government, private industry, volunteers and The Montana Standard — committed to an effort to bring the fractured groups together and focus on achieving specific, measurable goals.

Four major sponsors — Town Pump Inc., Atlantic Richfield, MSE/MERDI, St. James Healthcare and The Montana Standard — provided the funding and support.

The effort was launched in December 2002 with a facilitated meeting of business leaders followed by public forums.

From that meeting, a steering committee was formed and three subcommittees took on the task of accomplishing goals in tourism, job creation and sprucing up the looks of the city. Each group’s overarching goal was tied to economic development.

The purpose of Blueprint for Change was to be a catalyst for economic development: to help struggling groups move the mark and accomplish needed tasks, through funding and other resources.

What follows on Page D5 is a report out to the community. What goals were accomplished, who the people were who volunteered their time to the projects and what needs to be done next.

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Signs of change

By Gerard O’Brien of the Standard Staff – 11/13/2004

Blueprint grows into Butte on the Move

There is no question that Butte and southwest Montana have a long way to go to catch up with the neighboring cities of Missoula, Helena, Bozeman and Billings.

Now that a blueprint has been drawn up for bringing various

economic groups together, it’s time to lay the foundation — in the words of Pat Dudley of St. James Healthcare — for building a strong economy.

Blueprint for Change, which had the financial backing of several major, private employers over the last two years, will change this week into Butte on the Move.

With many of its goals met, Blueprint will go dark, but Butte on the Move will kick off with a public forum Monday.

The public is invited to a free presentation by Larry Swanson, associate director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Thornton Building, corner of Broadway and Wyoming, in Uptown Butte.

Swanson will present the economic realities facing southwest Montana and provide some insight into its future.

The forum has the backing of Team Butte as well, a Chamber of Commerce effort, which includes many of the economic development groups seeking to move in a unified direction.

A second forum of business leaders will follow on Tuesday morning at the Thornton Building. This session is by invitation only.

The work of the Tuesday session is to identify a set of community and regional objectives that all groups can work to accomplish.

Also, the group will indentify potential alliances with Montana’s other major cities to grow the economy.

And, the group will identify what sets Butte and southwest Montana apart from other regions.

Finally, the group will come up with a collective message to lobby state government and the Legislature on what Butte and southwest Montana needs to prosper in the changing environment of the 21st century.

For reservations to either session, contact Brenda Dorvall at 496-5572.