Click here to view the finalized version of the Vision West ND Regional Plan.

The Vision West ND Consortium approved its Regional Plan on Thursday, April 24, 2014 in Stanley, ND.  The regional planning project received an initial $1.5 million dollars grant from HUD to get the project started.

Consortium members have identified five primary issues in the western region of North Dakota -- Housing, Child Care, Emergency Services, Housing, Transportation, and Water. 

 

The intention of the Regional Plan is to be comprehensive, specific and bold in stating its findings and recommendations. Development of the Regional Plan has been conducted in two phases.  The first phase, beginning in February 2012, consisted of local community planning.  This phase also included planning & zoning, crew camp videos and webinars.  Phase two focused on the "bigger picture" regional issues while conducting expert interviews.

"The Regional Plan is a reflection of a two-year journey made by many people," said Vision West ND Program Director Shirley Brentrup. "These are recommendations they would like to implement or are the product of research that has been done. It isn't meant to be a synopsis of all issues. Working groups can add or refine recommendations to the Plan by working with the Vision West ND Consortium," she said. The Vision West ND Regional Plan is available at www.VisionWestND.com or by clicking here for a direct link. 

Vision West ND Consortium Chairman Daryl Dukart listens as Deb Nelson shares some population increase data recently presented in a population projection webinar.

During the meeting, Deb Nelson from DLN Consulting reviewed the new population estimates for three sub-regions in western North Dakota. The population and production trends can be found at www.visionwestnd.com/webinars.php or www.ndwebinars.com.  The conclusions found that the taper doesn't start until 2020-2030, after which it's expected the population will level off.  It also found that the Bakken is in a dynamic state of flux and projections will need to be revised regularly.

The Consortium also received media training from AE2S staffers Daron Selig, Heather Syverson and Andrea Boe.  The most important thing is to know your content and the rest will follow.

The next Consortium meeting will be in Tioga June 25th during the "One Million Barrel a Day" state-wide celebration. 

Vicky Steiner, Executive Director NDAOGPC, and Shirley Brentrup, Vision West project director, will be meeting with the county commissions in each of the nineteen Vision West ND counties within the coming four months asking for their sign-off on the project.  HUD's grant term ends January 2015.  

 

Upcoming Event:  

One-Stop Shop Provider Portal

Dickinson meeting rescheduled for Wednesday, April 30 11AM-2 PM Mountain Time

The Strom Center

Training Room

1679 6th Ave W

Dickinson, ND 58601

Topic Covered: Streamlining the application process and providing outreach

Purpose of the Meeting

As you well know, North Dakota has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, largely due to the energy boom. Though we've seen the economic benefits, we've also experienced an increased strain on our resources. One particular resource we'd like to address in the upcoming meetings is the availability of child care in our communities.

The Vision West ND Consortium has engaged The Strom Center to develop a solution to accessing the broad resources that are currently available to assist potential and existing child care providers. In the upcoming meeting, we will review a proposed website template, which can act as a one-stop portal for individuals looking to provide child care services. We will also review the types of printed outreach materials being developed. By providing these resources with easy to understand instructions, our hope is to streamline the application process and increase the number of providers in the 19 oil and gas producing counties.

Our goal is to have your input to the materials that we have developed. We hope that the resources we present at the upcoming meeting will support your local efforts and provide you with valuable tools as you work with potential or existing child care providers in your community.

Please RSVP, as lunch will be provided and an accurate count will be needed. Mileage will be reimbursed. Reimbursement forms will be available at the meeting.

RSVP

Renee Townsend

Dickinson SBDC

(701) 483-2470

renee.townsend@dickinsonstate.edu