Vision West ND Newsletter
July 23, 2013
Vol. 2, Issue 8
VWND Logo
Greetings All!

 

Last week Thursday, Vision West ND Consortium members met in Parshall for their July meeting. The meeting coincided with the Bakken Rocks CookFest, sponsored by the ND Petroleum Council. Brady Pelton, Deputy Executive Director for the ND Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties, opened the meeting with a presentation on the impact of the 2013 Legislative Session on western North Dakota communities.

 

Pelton explained one of the region's largest and most important bill, HB 1358, and how it included language for both ongoing and grant-based funding to political subdivisions throughout the oil patch. The distribution formula for oil and gas Gross Production Tax was changed by the bill, changing the way in which counties, cities, school districts, townships, hub cities, and hub city school districts receive GPT revenue.

 

Also included within HB 1358 were allocations for energy impact grants to specific needs such as $7 million to county sheriffs' offices, $7 million to impact EMS districts, $3.5 million for impacted fire protection districts, and a total of $14 million for hub cities (i.e. Williston, Dickinson, and Minot).

 

For access to Pelton's powerpoint presentation, please visit the Vision West ND website at www.VisionWestND.com or click this link. For other materials related to legislative activity affecting the west, please click here.

 

Robert Grow at VWND Consortium Mtng - July 18, 2013
Robert Grow and Christie Oostema, both with the HUD Capacity Builder Envision Utah, talk about ways to build an effective regional plan at the July Vision West ND Consortium meeting in Parshall.

Tom Hehring, with the ND Dept. of Health's Division of Emergency Medical Services & Trauma, also gave a presentation on how EMS has been impacted by the oil and gas development throughout the region. His presentation is also available on the Vision West ND website

 

In other news, Vision West ND Consortium Chairman Mark Resner attended the International Legislators Forum in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 28. The Forum consists of legislators from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba who meet annually to explore issues affecting the region. Bakken oil development is currently spreading into southwest Manitoba.  "Frack" sand is being mined in Minnesota, and South Dakota is experiencing marked growth in oil-related goods and service businesses. The legislators in attendance were universally interested in Vision West ND's efforts to maximize economic benefits while minimizing infrastructure and social costs.

 

Resner's presentation addressed three areas. The first being a description of the meaning and "flavor" of the Bakken to the people and institutions enveloped by rapid growth. The second was an overview of the Vision West ND project, its partners and participants, methodology, and time-line. The third area was a description of the regional plan's focus on the five main issues of housing, emergency services, childcare, roads, and water supply. Resner concluded his presentation with an appeal for legislators to support political solutions and funding. Demands for infrastructure, housing finance, law enforcement & safety, emergency medical services, road construction, water supply, workforce development, and much more simply cannot be met except through sound political solutions, he said.

 

Child care, as one of the top issues in the region, will see some assistance from the state's Department of Commerce during the 2013-15 biennium. North Dakota's 63rd Legislative Assembly provided funding totaling $2.6 million to assist ND child care facilities in the form of a child care grant program through the Dept. of Commerce. The Department began accepting applications on July 1, 2013 and will continue to accept applications through August 30. Please check out the ND DoC Division of Community Services website to learn more about the Child Care Grant Program, including eligibility, match requirements, project qualifications, and application guidelines. Additional child care service resources are available on that site as well.


County Plan

Directors are reminded to create a Drop Box folder through the invitation email sent directly to them and Steering Committee members on May 22nd. The Drop Box folder contains Plan Implementation Workbooks and the action steps that were created by each county's Steering Committee for the selected economic strategies and quality of life initiatives in each county plan. Also included in the Drop Box folder is a copy of the latest version of each county's Strategic Plan. 

 

In addition to their own Drop Box activation, it's also recommended that all Vision West ND Plan Directors contact their Steering Committee members and urge them to accept the Drop Box invitation if they have not already. Many have done so, but a majority have not. Those that do not have their own Drop Box folder already established, don't worry. You may contact Vision West ND Plan Facilitator Brian Cole at [email protected], and the process of getting one started is quite easy! 

 

Thanks for reading the latest edition of the Vision West ND Newsletter. Please stay tuned for future news on how the communities of western North Dakota are working toward a completed regional plan.

 

Have a great rest of your week!

 

 

The Vision West ND Team

 

Quick Links

* Vision West ND Homepage 

 

* U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development 

 

* ND USDA Rural Development 

  

* ND Dept. of Commerce Division of Community Services Child Care Grant Program 

Upcoming Events

 
Thursday, August 22

Vision West ND Consortium Meeting

Time: TBD

Cobbleston Inn & Suites
1109 11th Street East
Bottineau, ND 58318
2493 4th Ave. W
Suite G
Dickinson, ND 58601

701.483.2801