April 28, 2017 at 10:53 a.m.
ABC contest outcome disappoints; but solid plan not going on shelf
ABC contest outcome disappoints; but solid plan not going on shelf
Communities were invited by Frontier Communications, DISH Network, CoBank and The Weather Channel to participate in a public relations and promotion campaign that went beyond the usual “feel good” marketing recognition.
To compete in the ABC program civic leaders were challenged to think long term and get creative and be pro-active in revitalizing their local situations. Plans that qualified for continuing on were eligible for huge final prize awards. The Chisago Lakes area was the only Minnesota entry to be included.
Along the way quarter-finalists and semi finalists earned monetary incentives to hone their ideas and start implementing them.
Last week the competition came to the point of awarding grand prizes. Huntington West Virginia, Lake Havasu City, AZ and Statesboro, Georgia were chosen to be the top three communities, winning $3 million, $2 million and $1 million respectively.
The five city area along Highway 8 competing as Chisago Lakes found success out of 350 original contestant communities.
Chisago Lakes made it through the first cut of 50 entries for quarter-finals and out of 15 in semi-finals, all the way to one of eight towns that were presenting to judges in Denver Colorado, as finalists last week.
The eight final communities were announced in April 2016 and given $100,000 to begin implementing their plans. Judges were basically looking for “tangible economic impact” according to the ABC news release.
In the case of the local ABC effort an early budget total for expenses is $116,775.
The bulk of expenditures of $81,248 went towards a category of subcontracted consultants. The contest rules prohibited any existing organization wages (ie: chamber of commerce) being paid for with ABC prize money, but consultants could receive compensation.
The ABC competition budget report ending March 29, included $17,339 expended for equipment, which includes items like ABC’s support for purchase of teleconferencing technology installed at the library.
Category expenses for Chisago Lakes include “other” for $10,000, $5,164 for “communications” and $1,886 to cover costs for meetings.
This five-community cooperative effort included Chisago City, Lindstrom, Center City, Shafer and Taylors Falls.
Tangi Schaapveld, who stepped down as executive director of the Chisago Lakes Area Chamber to coordinate this ABC campaign, said, “We have created a comprehensive plan for Chisago Lakes and will continue to work on our projects...we have already made great strides. Let’s capitalize on the work that has been completed, share our story, and keep working on the plan.”
County Commissioner George McMahon, whose district covers much of the Chisago Lakes area, stressed that the work put into the ABC contest over the last nearly two years, helped set a new cooperative tone for the area. He hopes to “keep up the momentum” arising from the work done. “We are all a little disappointed (about the grand prizes),” said McMahon, but he quickly added, everybody did a great job and “...we won with the resulting community activity and progress.”
The Chisago Lakes ABC plan embraced a multi-pronged economic stimulation effort. It came together under committees working on identifying what is available locally with sub-areas like a healthy lifestyle, for one. The Chisago Lakes Water Trail was a nebulous concept that basically existed as a line drawn on a map and the ABC contest gave it definition.
The bike trail under development, Swedish Immigrant Regional Trail, was highlighted and brought in as part of the ABC healthy population effort.
Speakers educated the public at forums on improving locally sustainable energy, and hundreds attended a Blue Zones, healthy cultures forum. An energy use audit outreach was promoted through ABC, and private residences and commercial sites registered for audit experts to visit their properties.
The ABC team also looked into unmet needs in workforce development.
Technology availability amongst the Chisago Lakes cities, got a boost. ABC served as a key boost for opening public Wi-Fi hotspots.
** ABC’s Committee members were scheduled to meet today April 27, at the library at 8:30 a.m. for a recap and a where do we go from here discussion.
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