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Blueprint for Change marks first year of economic development accomplishments in Butte

Blueprint for Change — a new program aimed at helping local businesses grow — lists several accomplishments over the past year. Consider the following:

# It made plans for an upcoming tourism fair to educate and unite tourism efforts in Butte.

# It established stronger ties between the local college and the business community.

# It started a year-long effort at helping assist existing groups with their goals.

By Gerard O’Brien of The Montana Standard

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/01/02/newsbutte/hjjfjijhjbfjei.txt

The Montana Standard and four corporate sponsors launched Blueprint for Change to unify economic development efforts, set goals and celebrate successes. Sponsors are Town Pump Inc., St. James Healthcare, MSE/MERDI and Atlantic Richfield Co.

"There has been extraordinary cooperation and participation from all of the public, private and government groups involved in Blueprint for Change," said Montana Standard Publisher Heidi Wright. "Our primary purpose is to be networkers and catalysts of efforts to revitalize Butte.

"We’ve tried to pay close attention to not duplicating existing efforts and staying focused on quantifiable, measurable projects. Simply tapping into the wealth of ideas and expertise from around our community, and seeing what can happen when efforts are focused, has been the most rewarding part this past year."

Three groups are working with a steering committee to focus on the various aspects of economic development: Civic improvement, tourism and economic futures. A transportation committee will be formed in January. The groups work with a steering committee that comprises members from the corporate sponsors.

Each group has five or more volunteer members from different parts of the community, led by one of the members. Generally they meet monthly to set and accomplish goals.

Here’s a thumbnail sketch of work underway and what’s planned for 2004 :

Rick Edwards of NorthWestern Energy heads the economic development group. Its goals for the

coming year include:

1. Launch the Business Expansion and Retention program (BEAR) in January. It is an in-depth program which helps match resources with needs to retain or grow business. A workshop to train the interviewers was held in October with ExecutivePulse consultants of Pennsylvania. About

20 volunteers are signed up, and five businesses will be surveyed. The survey will cover all the counties in southwest Montana. Blueprint paid $10,500 for the program.

2. A Retail Economic Development committee will work with the Butte Chamber of Commerce and the Butte Local Development Corp. to develop a uniform strategy to bring more retail stores to Butte. One such goal is to fill the vacant anchor store in the Butte Plaza Mall.

3. Defining opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Sharon Chebul heads the civic improvement committee. Goals for 2004 include:

1. Street sign repair and replacement. Thanks to efforts by the committee, Butte-Silver Bow and The Montana Standard Web site listing damaged or missing street signs, to date, 119 of the signs posted on the Internet site have been repaired. The next step is to ask businesses to clearly display their address numbers on their shops. Letters have been sent to businesses reminding them of the local ordinance.

2. Place interpretive signs at the Berkeley Pit viewing stand this spring.

3. Promote urban design and streetscapes for the main thoroughfares. The committee is looking at grant sources and previous studies to meld a uniform guide for streetscapes.

4. "Welcome to Butte" signs proposed for all interstate exits to the city. Butte-Silver Bow will apply for federal funding for the signs.

5. Wallscapes — large weather-proof vertical banners that have historical pictures on them — for Uptown buildings. Denver has a similar program. Research for funding is ongoing. Cost is up to $3,000 per wallscape.

Dan Steele of Steele’s Warehouse heads the tourism group. Projects for 2004 include:

1. A regional tourism fair, May 14, at the Butte Civic Center. The fair’s goal is to inform the public what attractions are available to keep tourists in Butte.

2. Increasing tourism in Southwest Montana through measurable projects .

3. Find ways to lure tourists off the interstates and have them stay longer than one day.

4. Make local people more aware of what is offered to help guide tourists.

The steering committee is working on several upcoming projects, including:

1. Assisting the Chamber of Commerce in starting a Leadership Butte program.

2. Developing a marketing kit promoting Butte. It can be handed to developers, tourist groups, or anyone interested in relocating here. It will be released in the next few months.

In the coming months, a transportation committee will begin work on coordinating all the key transportation issues that face the region, from air traffic, rail, bus and local transportation issues.

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