New alliance seeks monies for economic development

By Diane Chiddister

At the Oct. 1 meeting of Village Council, Dan Young of Community Resources presented a proposal that asked Council to give a new alliance of three local organizations control over $250,000 of village revenues in order to promote economic development in the village.

The Yellow Springs Alliance, or YSA, will be comprised of members from Community Resources, the Chamber of Commerce and the Community Information Project (CIP), according to the proposal. The group’s members chose to form the alliance to prevent duplication of efforts for local business development, according to Young.

The item was discussion only at the Oct. 1 meeting, and Council took no action to address the proposal. However, Young urged Council members to act as soon as possible. The $250,000 is the five-year sum of a yearly $50,000 amount allocated for economic development from monies raised by the passage of last year’s property tax levy.

Council member Kathryn Chase expressed support for the proposal.

“These three groups have been working diligently and constructively for years now,” she said. “I’m delighted with the prospect of empowering these people who have demonstrated such success.”

But most others who responded urged caution before giving away the economic development monies, and encouraged Council to see economic development in a broader perspective.

While Council member Judith Hempfling expressed support for the proposal as “an excellent starting point” for discussion of economic development, that discussion must be thorough and inclusive, she said.

“The kind of economic development Yellow Springs pursues impacts what kind of community it becomes,” she said, and any proposal “needs to have broad public support.” Hempfling called for a minimum of a three-month discussion on village economic development, and suggested that a broader array of local groups, including those representing the arts, the environment, smart growth and Antioch College, also be represented.

Community member Marianne MacQueen, executive director of Home, Inc., also urged caution.

“We should take time to decide how to spend this money,” she said. “Yellow Springs doesn’t want to look at economic development in a traditional way.”

Young stated that Antioch College is already represented in the members of the alliance. Asked who is representing the college, he stated Antioch University Chancellor Toni Murdock and former University CFO Glenn Watts, who is on the board of Community Resources. Brian Springer stated that those persons represent the university, not the college, and that Murdock has led the effort to close the college.

According to the proposal, representatives from the three groups began meeting last spring due to concerns that they may be duplicating efforts, and after conducting a feasibility study, moved ahead with the intention of forming the alliance. The alliance would be composed of representatives from each organization, along with community members, who would meet in open meetings on a quarterly basis. The group hopes to form in January 2008, according to Young.

Community Resources is a nine-year-old non-profit community improvement corporation whose main activity has been the development of the Center for Business and Education. Community Information Project is a three-year initiative of the Men’s Group which will soon conclude its original charter. According to the proposal, the CIP was initiated to communicate information across the region about Yellow Springs to encourage new residents, businesses and visitors. The Chamber of Commerce is an association of local businesses and non-profit groups.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com