G.R.E.A.T. Meeting Minutes
The
GREAT November meeting was held at the Meadow Branch Fire Department.
A Thanksgiving meal was served by Fire Department volunteers and provided
by Alcoa, Inc. The meeting was called to order at 12:10 p.m. by Director
Rick Davis who gave the welcome, an appreciation to Alcoa for providing the
lunch and introduction of special guests. Director
Davis recognized Chair Claudie Burchfield who conducted the meeting.
The minutes of September 24, 2009 were approved as read.
Agenda was accepted as read.
Committee
Reports:
Economic
Development, Business and Industry -
Claudie Burchfield
Discussed
the Strategic Plan Review and the need to revisit the plan to see what needed to
be revised. Josh Carpenter, County
Planner, discussed the recent grant from NC Rural Center in collaboration with
Tri-County Community College to provide training for 30 participants in Graham
County to enhance job skills.
Education
and Workforce Development - Rhonda
Anderson.
Nancy
Norcross provided an update on Committee activities-house construction has begun
on Mill Creek using students enrolled in the RHS Construction Technology class
and announcement of the 21st Century Grant proposal for afterschool
programs at Robbinsville Elementary and Middle Schools and Stecoah Valley
Center. Jim Mize, Imagination
Library Champion, provided an update on the project. One hundred fifty-one (151) 0-5 year old children have been
enrolled and a total of $5,100 in donations has been collected.
Tourism
and Mountain Culture - Lynn Shields
Judy
Carpenter provided information on the Proctor Revival Project she is working on.
Judy discussed the need to more to enhance tourists to visit and stay in
Graham County. She discussed some potential fund raising activities and
provided a handout on the benefits of the proposed project.
Revitalization
and Infrastructure - Rick Davis
Information
was provided on the rollout of Verizon DSL for the Stecoah and Fontana area.
A grant of $252,000 from the e-NC Authority provided funds for this
project. An additional focus will
be attaining service in other areas of Graham County.
MAIN and GREAT are collaborating on a grant for stimulus money
to install wireless broadcast towers for Graham County areas not served by
Verizon DSL.
Brenda
Artiss provided information concerning the potential effects of the 4-lane
Bypass to Robbinsville merchants. She
provided a survey for people to complete and forward to appropriate DOT
personnel. Mrs. Artiss also
discussed need to revitalize the downtown area of Robbinsville and her
willingness to work on this project with GREAT.
Recreation,
Natural Resources, and Water Quality -
Michael Wiggins
Jason
Sawyer discussed the need to update the Master Recreation Plan for Graham County
and announced a meeting time and place for citizen input in this process.
Randy Collins reported on various agriculture projects in Graham County.
Lindy Ammons provided information on the Yellow Creek Falls clean-up project
with Land Trust for Little Tennessee and Alcoa employees.
He indicated that Alcoa would be installing signage for this trail soon.
Leadership
and Government - Teresa Garland
The
youth survey was done to identify needs in the county.
Identified needs were: economy, healthy lifestyles, and natural
resources. A $15,000.00 grant from
Cherokee Preservation was received to help Knights of Round Table (KORT) in
leadership development and training.
Health
and Social - Kristen Shuler
Information
was provided on “bridge” funding for the School Based Health Center for
2010. Additional revenue/sources of
funding are being pursued to keep the SBHC open and available for Graham County
Schools’ students. The Diabetes
Education classes were discussed.
Mike
Harwood discussed the Financial Literacy program he is providing through Peace
University.
Alcoa
representatives, Bill Bunker, Christy Newman, Marshall Olson and Lindy Ammons,
were recognized for their contributions to GREAT and Graham County.
Bill Bunker provided an update on Alcoa operations in Graham County and
the upgrades to be done on the Cheoah Power Plant and the potential for job
creation in Graham County.
Financial
report was presented by Rick Davis and accepted as read.
Consultant
Updates:
Sandy
Zimmerman with Congressman Heath Shuler’s office reported on various issues
being focused on in the US Congress. She
applauded the Meadow Branch Community on its Fire Department Building.
Sara
Day Evans reported on her work with Graham County in the 21st Century
Program. She was very complimentary
of GREAT and the progress that had been made in the organization and its
activities.
Jen
Walker, consultant with Fit Communities, discussed the playground project.
She indicated she was very impressed with the GREAT organization and the
activities being pursued.
Ted
Alexander with Preservation North Carolina provided a very informative
presentation on the work of this organization and the desire to preserve
historic buildings, sites and land.
Juleigh
Sitton, Western NC Representative of Governor Purdue’s office was recognized.
She provided information on Governor Purdue’s areas of focus.
Rick
Davis provided an article concerning Graham County being identified as a top 10
site for retirees to move and the need to plan for this influx of people.
He also provided information on future meetings with Golden Leaf
representatives to begin a process of identifying priorities for Graham County.
The GREAT Annual Meeting on January 21, 2010 was announced with a
discussion of the process that would be used to indentify priorities for 2010
The
meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. After the meeting Alcoa representatives took
interested participants on a tour of the Cheoah Dam. Several people participated in a very informative tour and
history of the area.