U VRDC - 84th Minnesota Legislature QUI PARLE COUNTY Merril Johnson, Dawson County Board Greg Thole, Madison Municipalities Tim Patzer, Marietta Townships SWIFT COUNTY Richard Hanson,

U VRDC05 - 0468 ~R

MINNESOTA

VALLEY

REGIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

COMMISSION

BIG STONE COUNTYBrent Olson, ClintonCounty Board

Shirley Finberg, ClintonMunicipalities

Harold Dimberg, OrtonvilleTownships

CHIPPEWA COUNTYJim Dahlvang, MontevideoCounty Board

Ron Anderson, MilanMunicipalities

Rudolph Larson, MontevideoTownships

LAC QUI PARLE COUNTYMerril Johnson, DawsonCounty Board

Greg Thole, MadisonMunicipalities

Tim Patzer, MariettaTownships

SWIFT COUNTYRichard Hanson, ClontarfCounty Board

Ron Ronning, AppletonMunicipalities

Warren Rau, AppletonTownships

YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTYGary L. Johnson, MontevideoCounty Board

Dan Jahn, ClarkfieldMunicipalities

Erling Albin, Hanley FallsTownships

SCHOOL BOARDSPaul Pillatzki, DawsonDawson/Boyd

TRIBAL COUNCILTeresa PetersonUpper Sioux Community

PUBLIC INTEREST

UPPER MN VALLEY REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONREVENUE AND EXPENDITURE COMPARISON

CURRENT FY 2005 AND PROPOSED FY 2006

FY 2005 FY 2000 FY 2005 FY 2006

CURRENT PROPOSED CURRENT PROPOSED

BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET

REVENUES: EXPENDITURES:

Agency Revenues SalarieslFringe $595,375 $623,313

Interest/Levy/Misc. 210,000 273,500 Commissioners Expense 25,600 26,100

Aging 140,677 139,792 Audit 10,620 10,000

Grants Administration 48,689 70,500 Copy ChargelXerox Lease 7,000 7,000

EDA/Community Development 186,438 122,628 Computer Technical Assistance 6,000 6,000

GIS Contracts 56,890 41,760 Contract for Services 2,000 2,000

Regional Tourism 71,000 71,000 Depreciation 13,000 14,400

TransportationlNatural Resources 64,300 88,200 Dues 6,500 6,500

Equipment 0 1,000

TOTAL REVENUE $ 778,454 $807,370 Insurance 3,500 3,500

Lease/Service Agreement 4,000 4,000

ILegal Fees 1,500 1,500

Miscellaneous/Employee Morale 4,000 4,000

Office Rent 9,200 9,200

Postage 11,000 11,000

Printing/Advertising 5,000 5,000

Registration 3,500 3,500

Repairs/Maintenance 1,000 1,000

Software/Software GIS 6,000 6,000

Subscrip./Pub1ications 1,000 1,000

Supplies 8,000 8,000

Telephone 8,000 8,000

Tourism Trade Shows/Ads 15,000 15,000

Training/Training GIS 2,200 3,000

Travel (Staff) 25,000 25,000

TOTAL EXPENDITURES $773,995 $805,513

EXCESS REV.OVER (UNDER) EXP. $ 4,459 $ 1,857

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Current JOBZ Activity •In Region 6W

http: /www.deed.state.mn.us/bizdev/jobz.htm. If youhave questions about theprogram, please contactRyan Krosch at320.289.1981.

UMVRDC assists the JOBZ subzonecommunities with their administrativeresponsibilities, working with the

. Department of Employment andEconomic Development (DEED) on

JOBZ adminis­tration and assist­ing with regionalJOBZ marketingefforts.

If you are inter­ested in learningmore about theJOBZ program,visit DEED'swebsite at

Yellow Medicine County• City of Granite Falls• City of Clarkfield• City of Porter• City of Canby (including Hammer

and Norman Townships)

retail development. The JOBZ program start­ed January 1,2004 and runs for 12 years untilDecember 31, 2015.

The UMVRDC continued serving asthe Job Opportunity Building Zone(JOBZ) administrator for Region 6W.

As JOBZ administrator, the

tax for owners. Job creation and retention is arequirement of a business that uses the JOBZprogram. The JOBZ program is for manufac­turing, technology and other businesses thatpay higher wages. JOBZ cannot be used for

Region 6W Communities with JOBZ Approved LandBig Stone County Lac'qui Parle County Swift County• City of Ortonville • City of Madison • City of Appleton

(including Ortonville Township) • City of Dawson • City of Danvers• City of Murdock• City of Kerkhoven• Toming Township• Clontarf Township

Chippewa County• City of Milan• City of Clara City• City of Montevideo• City of Maynard• City of Granite Falls

There were four businesses that used theJob Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ)

program in Region 6W the past year. Thesebusinesses are located in Madison, Milan,Montevideo and Granite Falls. The largestJOBZ proj­ect was theGraniteF all sEnergy,L L Cethanolplant proj­ect inGraniteFalls. Whencompleted,this $55 million plant will employee 30 - 35people.

The JOBZ program provides tax incen­tives to new or expanding business thatlocates on JOBZ approved land. The taxincentives include exemption from sales tax,property tax (for buildings only) and income

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Community & Economic Development Services and Assistance

The Western Minnesota Revolving Loan Fund

economic development, business retention!expansion, natural resources, downtownplanning, community needs assessment,agriculture, technology, population, demo­graphic analysis and other topics;• Survey creation, distribution and analysis;• Business loan funds available for new orexpanding businesses;• Business consulting services (provided bySouthwest Minnesota Small BusinessDevelopment Center) includir..g informationfor new business start-ups and expansions,business assessments, business plans, financialanalysis, loan packaging and marketing; and• Mapping projects including maps identi­fying parcel information, land use, zoning,ter/sewer infrastructure and addresses.

Please feel free to contact the UMVRDCto find out more about the community devel­opment services that can be provided.

ty marketing, economic development andother activities;• Economic development authority creation;• Meeting facilitation services;• Revolving loan fund administration;• Comprehensive. plan creation or updates;• Land use planning activities includingestablishing future land use plans, urbangrowth boundary identification and annexa­tion procedures;• Goal, objective and policy developmentfor guiding local government decision­making processes;• Ordinance creation or updates;• Grant and loan applications and fiscaladministration for projects including water,sewer, single-family and rental housingrehabilitation, new housing development,commercial building rehabilitation, commu­nity facilities and others;• Special studies/plans including housing,

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

first priority of the WesMN RLF dollarswhile job retention is the second priority.The WesMN RLF has portfolio standardsof one job created or saved for every

$10,000 ofWesMN RLF funds loanedand a minimum of two private dollarsborrowed to every one WesMN RLFdollar loaned.In Fiscal Year 2005, the WesMN RLF

made $150,000 in loans to new and expand­ing businesses in Region 6W. TheseWesMN RLF loan dollars helped leveragean additional $815,000 in private lendingand owner investments for projects that cre­ated new business and job growth. Theseloans will result in over 30 jobs being creat­ed and eight retained.

Loans are made by the WesMN RLFLoan Board with staff support comingfrom the UMVRDC.

The Community and EconomicDevelopment Division of the

UMVRDC is able to provide local units ofgovernment with a wide variety of servicesin a cost-effective manner. The following isa list of community development servicesthe UMVRDC staff can provide:• Community profile and website design touse for an informational resource, communi-

o evolving Loan Fund dollars are avail­RabIe through the Western MinnesotaRevolving Loan Fund (WesMN RLF) fornew or expanding businesses in Region 6W.The WesMN RLF is a gap financinglender that requires local bank finan­cial participation with each loanmade. Secured loans ranging in sizefrom $5,000 to $100,000 may be made forfixed assets and working capital. The maxi­mum WesMN RLF participation rate is 33percent on manufacturing projects and 20percent on all other types of loans.

The emphasis of the WesMN RLF isto help finance business start-ups andexpansions with a priority given toindustrial/manufacturing businesses.Commercial/retail business projects,while eligible for WesMN RLF financ­ing, must fulfill a local need for essentialgoods and services. Job creation is the

All-Hazard Mitigation Planning

Community & Economic DevelopmentProjects in FY 2005

Counties are vulnerable to a number of ties in Region 6W to complete multi-juris­different natural and man-made hazards dictional countywide all-hazard mitigation

that can threaten life and health, cause exten- plans. All cities and townships elected to par­sive property damage and have dramatic ticipate in the county plan. The UMVRDCeconomic impacts to the county as a whole. contracted with each of the counties to assistIn preparing the plans, historical research in the writing ?f the plans.was done to identify hazards that the coun- The plan identifies strategies that can beties have experienced over time. The impacts done by both .government and the privateof these hazards on residents, public facili- sector to minimize the negative impactsties, businesses, and private property ,---.,.---------, caused by hazards and reducescan be minimized through hazard the cycle of hazard - repair -mitigation planning. hazard - repair. It will not

In the Disaster Mitigation Act of reduce, control, or eliminate2000, FEMA requires that any town- hazards from happening. Thisship, city or county wanting access to future is, unfortunately, out of human control. ItHazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) can, however, improve preparedness andfunds must have in place or be in the process reaction to these hazards to reduce risk andof completing an all-hazard mitigation plan damage.by November 2004 or be currently working Each county assembled a task force madeon a plan. The program is meant to control up of representatives from all participatingfederal costs of disaster assistance and jurisdictions to assist in the planning process.streamline administration of disaster relief. Each plan was submitted to the Minnesota

A FEMA grant was awarded to the coun- Department of Public Safety - Division of

Some of the community developmentprojects completed by UMVRDC staff

in Fiscal Year 2005 included:• Prepared successful Small CitiesDevelopment Program (SCDP) applicationsfor the cities of Benson and Watson.• Started working on a comprehensive planfor Yellow Medicine County.• Completed a zoning and subdivision ordi­nance for the city of Madison.• Completed All-Hazard Mitigation Plansfor the counties of Big Stone, Lac qui Parle,Chippewa, and Yellow Medicine, and theUpper Sioux Community. The UMVRDCalso started work on an All-HazardMitigation Plan for Swift County.• Provided technical assistance to the city ofGranite Falls on flood mitigation activities.

• Prepared a successful Job OpportunityBuilding Zone application for 16 cities andtwo townships in th~ region.• Assisted the city of Holloway with secur­ing a $536,000 loan and grant from USDA­Rural Development to do repairs andimprovements to the community's watersystem.• Co-sponsored with the Private IndustryCouncil and Minnesota Small BusinessDevelopment Center business planning andmarketing workshops in March - April20045 (see related article in this report).• Served as JOBZ Administrator for theUMVRDC 1OBZ.• Organized quarterly meetings of the eco­nomic development professionals inRegions 6W and 6E.

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Homeland Security and EmergencyManagement for review before submitting toFEMA for final approval. FEMA approvedfour county plans April 2005 and county

. adoption of the plans took place in May2005. Jurisdictions must adopt the plan toapply for FEMA funds directly rather thanunder the umbrella of the county.

All-hazard mitigation plans wererequired to include an extensive public par­ticipation process and hazard risk assessmentof the county and all its communities.Several public meetings were held in eachcounty to meet this requirement and providevaluable input into the planning process.

The UMVRDC has contracts to assistSwift County and the Upper SiouxCommunity to complete plans in 2005. Formore information about the hazard mitiga­tion requirements and planning process,please contact Ryan Krosch at 320.289.1981.

• Began working with the city of Odessa ona USDA Rural Development application forfunds to repair the city's wastewater system.

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Big Stone County (left to right)Bruce Swigerd, Prairie Five CAC; Shirley Finberg,Municipalities; (Not pictured: Brent Olson, County Board;Harold Dimberg, Ortonville Townships)

Lac qui Parle County (left to right)Greg Thole, Municipalities; Merril Johnson, CountyBoard; (Not pictured: Tim Patzer, Townships)

Tribal Council/School Board/Public Interest (left toright) Jaunita Lauritsen, WorkForce Council; Paul Pillatzke,School Board; (Not pictured: Teresa Peterson, Upper SiouxCommunity)

Chippewa County (left to right)Rudolph Larson, Ortonville Townships; Jim Dahlvang,County Board; Ron Anderson, Municipalities

Swift County (left to right)Richard Hanson, County Board; Ron Ronning,Municipalities; Warren Rau, Townships

Yellow Medicine County (left to right)Gary L. Johnson, County Board; Dan Jahn, Municipalities;Erling Albin, Townships

I

I

Back row, left to rightArlene Tilbury, Division Director, [email protected]

Barb Jordahl, Planner, [email protected]

Connie Stotesbery, [email protected]

Front row, left to rightKay Koosman, Office [email protected]

Paul Michaelson, Executive Directorpaul.michaelson@um\::rdc.org

Left to rightBerit Skurdahl, Planner, [email protected]

Michelle Bouta, EDP Senior Planner, [email protected]

Left to rightTom Watson, Regional Tourism [email protected]

Dawn Hegland, Division Director, Transportation/Natural Resources/Tourismdawn.hegland@umv1"dc.org

Left to rightScott Conn, GIS [email protected]

Ryan Krosch, Division Director, Community/[email protected]

Connie Nygard, Senior Planner, Community [email protected]

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

dling marketing and mailings. This is a grow­ing event and we are proud to be part of it.

Prairie Waters continues to track responsesfrom regional advertising in the form ofinquiries requesting our visitor guide and other

information. As of June 1, 2005,inquiries for the fIrst half of 2005 arenearly 1,000 ahead ofinquiries from lastyear. Our visitor guide and otherregional promotional pieces are sent inresponse to these growing inquiries.

The Prairie Water~ Tourism AdvisoryCommittee was established this year to offersuggestions and input to thePrairie Waters Board ofDirectors. CompOsed of vol­unteers from throughout thefIve-county region, the advi­sory committee suggests pro­grams, courses ofaction, andother ideas to the board forfurther consideration. Theyalso form ad hoc committeesas specifIc projects dictate.

In addition to programs related specifIcallyto our fIve-county region, Prairie Waters is alsoinvolved in the marketing ofthe entire southernMinnesota region through our participation inprograms offered by the Southern MinnesotaTourism Association, a regional division ofMinnesota's state tourism office.

Tourism Effort Continues to Grow in Prairie Waters AreaThe current Board of Directors for Prairie

Waters is: Chair - Gary Hendrickx/Swift Co.,Louis SherlinlYellow Medicine Co., DonnaHalvorson/Chippewa Co., Susan Lee/Lac quiParle Co., Brent Olson/Big Stone Co., AimeeWatkins/city of Granite Falls, JackieHerfurth/city of Montevideo, and at-largemembers Mavis Gustafson, Maynard Meyer,June Lynne and Lori Evenstad.

The current Tourism Advisory Committeeis: Charlotte HaugenlLillehaugen B&B,Benson; Joan FusUCenex C-Store, Appleton;Luanne Fondell/Dawson Chamber andDawson-Boyd Arts Association; Jan

PedersonlMecca, Canby; AnnLundberg/Big Stone Co. Museum,Ortonville; and Steve Dragt/Lake ShoreRV Park, Ortonville.

Western Minnesota Prairie WatersCVB continues to market the entireregional area as opportunities arise.Future projects include the 2006 VisitorsGuide, the development of self-guidedtour pieces for wildlife viewing/birding,heritage and a region-wide hospitality

education program for front line clerks.A major key to the successful future of

the regional. tourism programs will be thelevel and duration· of sustainable fundingdedicated to those programs.

The tourism projects at Western MinnesotaPrairie Waters continue as scheduled: ad

placements were placed in AAA/Home andAway, Midwest Living, Minnesota Monthlyand other midwest-focused magazines. In addi­tion, participation in several regionalconsumer travel shows were completedas part of the State of Minnesota's tradeshow marketing campaign. PrairieWaters participated in the GreatNorthwest Sports and Travel Show andthe Milwaukee Sentinel Travel Show as mem­bers of the State of Minnesota's ExploreMir.nesota Tourism booth.

In December, Tom Watson was hired as thenew regional tourism coordinator for PrairieWaters. Tom's background includes over 20years oftourism development and marketing atlocal, regional and state levels.

Prairie Waters successfully applied for a$5,000 tourism development grant from theSouthwest Foundation that enables PrairieWaters to conduct a series of sessions intourism capacity building, tourism educationand strategic planning. Those sessions arebeing conducted over a four-month period thatbegan in late April.

Prairie Waters is also assisting again thisyear with the Upper Minnesota River MeanderArt Crawl, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2. We facilitatedmeetings, designed the brochure and are han-

Transportation Planning AssistanceThe UMVRDC continues to provide local

transportation planning assistance to theregion through a contract with the MNDepartment of Transportation. The region'sTransportation Advisory Committee meetsquarterly to review, discuss and recommendtransportation projects including the prioriti­zation of millions of dollars worth of road,bridge, rail crossing, public transit and trailprojects. Recommendations are given to theUMVRDC and to Area TransportationPartnerships (ATPs). ATPs develop priori­tized lists of transportation projects for amulti-county area. Region 6W participatesin two ATPs, each ofwhich encompass a dif­ferent 12-county area.

Transportation issues continue to be crit­ical issues for our rural, agrarian region. We

rely heavily on the existing transportationsystem to get to work, school, medicalappointments, vacation, and to get com­modities into and out of the region. TheUMVRDC would like to assist the localunits of government to ensure its people andbusinesses of this region "Ire adequatelyserved by all modes of transportation.

Some of the transportation projects thatwere included in FY 2005:• Participated on ATPs 4 and 8 as technicalstaff and as alternate voting members;• Provided information to MnDOT on thestatewide freight study;• Compiled the sixth annualTransportation Data Report for transporta­tion and demographic characteristics in theregion;

• Assisted Yellow Medicine and Big StoneCounties, Appleton, Dawson and other citiesas requested regarding trail planning;• Participated on the ATP 8 TransportationEnhancement Committee;• Participated on the ATP 4 TransportationEnhancement, Discretionary, and SafetyCommittees;• Compiled the· annual Region 6WTransportation Survey;• Hosted four Transportation AdvisoryCommittee meetings; and• Coordinated with other RDCs on trans­portation issues.

If you have a transportation related com­ment or concern, we would love to hear it!Contact Dawn Hegland at 320.289.1981 [email protected].

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Minnesota River Valley National Scenic BywayFuture goals:

• Secure 2005 Byway federal funds to fabri­cate interpretive panels in 2006.

• Secure 2005 Byway federal funds to sus­tain staff coordination in 2006.

• Host a Byway familiarization tour for localofficials, media and citizens in fall 2005.

• Distribute the new byway guide in fall2005.

The Minnesota River Valley NationalScenic Byway continues to work toward

the goal of encouraging economic develop­ment through the promotion, preservation andprotection of the historic, cultur­al, and natural qualities of theMinnesota River Valley. TheByway Alliance had representa­tives from chambers of com­merce, CVBs, historical soci­eties, economic developmentassociations, elected officials and state agen­cies.' The Byway Alliance collaborates withother organizations to promote the valley andwork on projects to improve access and infor­mation distribution about it,> wonderful attrac­tions and resources.

The Interpretive Committee assembledexperts from the Minnesota Historical Society,Minnesota Department of Natural Resources,and other resource people to discuss interpre­tive panel design. They set guidelines for logoplacement, byway maps, colors, photo­graphs/graphics and sign sizes. These guide­lines will be implemented by the Byway andto anyone wishing to create interpretive pan­els. The guidelines help tie our three themestogether into a cohesive message and brand tocreate more awareness for the Byway.

The Marketing Committee created a newvisitor's guide with more detailed informationabout the Byway. The group sought out a pub­lishing partner who would sell the ads andprint the product. Itineraries Minnesota, a pub­lisher who recently completed the Southern

Minnesota Tour Guide was selected. The new24-page full color guide will be out in summeror early fall 2005 and has local advertisers aswell as editorial, site listings and maps of the

Byway.Byway members attended various

workshops and meetings during theyear. Members were sent to the Art ofInterpretive Writing Workshop, theNational Byway Power Workshops, theMN Byway Workshop, Explore MN • Revise Byway website www.mnriverval-

Tourism Conference, and our Byway coordi- ley.com.nator, Dawn Hegland was asked to be part ofa • Increase private byway membership tonational panel on byway sustainability and help fiscally sustain the Byway.attended a workshop in Rochester, New York • Recruit more active members from west ofin November with other byway leaders from Montevideo and east ofNew U1m.around the country to discuss ways to sustain • Increase byway signage in key locations.a byway's membership, volunteers, staff and I would like to wrap up this annual report byfun din g . r-----------------, once again thanking everyone

Membelrs are ~"!:A" who hash supported ththeeBywayalso p anning .,~w.... over t e years. To many

on attending Se.e...,4lJJf:ri.@sBYY!4YS individuals, chambers, CVBs,the National EDAs, counties, cities, histori-Byway confer- $II~A.OIIG cal societies and businessesence in who have given their time,Cleveland, Ohio in October 2005. These money or other resources to help promote theopportunities are very valuable opportunities Minnesota River Valley, you have my sincereto leam from other byways, or learn more thanks. You are all very important to our suc­about how to effectively manage our byway cess, and we cannot do it without you.and ongoing projects. THANK YOU!

Our annual business membership drive For more information about the Minnesotacontinues in its third year. Membership fund- River Valley National Scenic Byway contacting supports gener~l byway projects. We Dawn Hegland at 320.289.1981 or dawn.heg­appreciate the continued support of our mem- land@umvrdc. org.bers and hope that this will grow each year.

New Regional Tourism PlannerTom Watson was hired in December 2004

as the regional tourism planner forWestern Minnesota Prairie WatersConvention & Visitors Bureau. Tom's mainresponsibility is to help plan and coordinatea region-wide tourism marketing strategy inconjunction with ongoing efforts withineach community and county.

Tom's tourism background includestourism journalism at various weekly news-

papers including the Twin Cities Reader andthe Alaska Journal of Commerce. He is afreelance writer/photographer, publishedauthor and a IS-year active member of theOutdoor Writers Association of America.

Tom's tourism experience includes beingthe executive director of the Kodiak IslandConvention & Visitors Bureau in Kodiak,Alaska, and a board member of the AlaskaVisitors Association and the Alaska

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Wilderness Recreation and 10urismMarketing Association.

Please feel free to contact Tom at1.866.866.5432 or www.prairiewaters.comif you have any questions about PrairieWaters or would like to receive informationabout the region.

~ ••

The Minnesota River Area Agency onAging (MnRAAA) has been operating

since January 1,2005. It is a planning andservice area of 27 counties, including theEconomic Development Areas of Regions6E, 6W, 8 and 9. It basically encompassesthe southwest comer of the state. Offices aremaintained in Appleton, Willmar, Slaytonand Mankato. The Slayton office has theCall Center where all Senior LinkAge®

Line calls are answered, and the Mankatooffice was authorized to be the administra­tive and fiscal agent. The Mankato office isalso authorized to do the grants managementduties.

The MnRAAA Joint Powers Board, con­sisting of two commissioners from eachRegional Development Commission (RDC),a non-voting chair and an ex-officio memberfrom each Advisory Council on Aging locat-

ed within each RDC, is the designated AreaAgency on Aging.

Roles of the MnRAAA include adminis­tration of federal and state dollars for elder­ly services through grants or contracts, pro­viding people with information and assi­tance, advocacy and program developmentand coordination.

MN River Area Agency on Aging Information & Assistance

On January 1, 2005, the AAAs inRegions 6E, 6W, 8 and 9 became the

Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging(MnRAAA). Each region continues tomaintain their local office as well as theSenior Outreach Services. The SeniorLinkAge Line® continues to be answeredby the call center staffed by the MnRAAAoffice located in Slayton.

This past year we received grants tocomplete outreach sessions and one-on-oneassistance regarding the Medicare SavingsPrograms and the Medicare Approved DrugDiscount Card. Staff also began imple­menting the Medication Management proj­ect which recruits local pharmacists to con-

duct informational sessions and provideone-on-one counseling on prescription drugissues such as drug interactions and herbalremedies.

We continue to maintairi and staff oursenior outreach sites in Montevideo andGranite Falls and are looking to expand intoother communities as well. The HealthInsurance Counseling program currentlyhas seven active volunteers who are alwayslooking to assist seniors with theirMedicare and/or health insurance questionsas well as everyday paperwork.

In early 2005, staff received training onthe implementation of the prescription drugbenefit to Medicare also known as

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

Medicare Part D. We have been goingstrong ever since by doing joint communitypresentations and one-on-one assistancewith the Social Security office in Marshall.We plan to continue this outreach as every­one who is on Medicare will need to makea decision regarding Medicare Part D.

If you have questions ab~ut theInformation and Assistance programs ofMnAAA, contact Berit Skurdahl, SeniorOutreach Specialist at 1-800-333-2433.

ElderCare Developtnent Partnerships (EDP)

Eldercare Development Partnerships(EDP) marked its seventh year (2004)

in Region 6W. This project was formerlyknown as Senior Agenda for IndependentLiving (SAIL). EDP is a collaborative fund­ed by a state grant through the MinnesotaBoard on Aging (MBA) that provides tech­nical assistance to local providers to developand implement service delivery models inline with long-term care systems, rebalanc­ing to ensure efficient and quality service, topromote consumer choice and to maximizelocal resources.

A priority activity for EDP is to workwith counties and other long-term care serv­ice providers to collaboratively develop sus­tainable proposals for systems change,a<;:cessing the state's CommunityServices/Service Development (CS/SD)grant funds and/or other resources as appro­

priate.Funding for the current EDP contract

ends June 30, 2005, but it is anticipatedanother contract period will begin July I,2005. Region 9 AAA had been the leadagency with the Minnesota River AreaAgency on Aging now taking over as lead.

UMVRDC ANNUAL REPORT 2005

The Geographic Information Systems(GIS) Service Bureau has been busy

working on numerous projects for theregion. We have been in the process of fin­ishing the digital versions of the ditch mapsfor Yellow Medicine and Swift Counties. Inthis project, all of the paper maps are beingdigitized into a digital format while addingall the information. that pertains to eachditch. The end result will be that the countywill be able to use the information withother digital products that we have provided,such as the parcel-based map. Along withthis, we have been turning the ditch profilesfor Swift County into a digital format to belinked to each ditch. This will allow quickeraccess to all the ditch information withouthaving to pick up a paper map.

Other projects that the GIS ServiceBureau finished were parcel updates forChippewa and Swift Counties. This givesthe counties an updated version of their par­cel map, allowing for any new parcels or anysplits over the past few years. We also arefinishing up a database merging forChippewa County ditches. This will providethem with the history of a ditch and all theassociated costs, "repairs, and construction ofa ditch system.

Both Yellow Medicine County and thecity of Benson received a digital version oftheir zoning. This entailed drawing out eachentity's zoning district and creating a digitalversion on it for each one. This will allowfor easy reproduction and updates to thezoning.

The GIS Service Bureau applied for andreceived a Metadata grant. This entails pro­viding a detailed summary ofeach data layerthat the GIS Service Bureau has created overthe past six years.

The coming year looks to be a good oneso far. Both Swift and Yellow MedicineCounties have signed up for a two-year con­tract for parcel updates, which will allow formore up-to-date information for the countydepartments. We will also be creating a par­cel map for the city of Canby and finishingthe Metadata grant.

Ph. 320-289-1981 Fax 320-289-1983 www.umvrdc.org [email protected]

innesota Valley RDC

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