:The Laurel Outlook:Big Story

The Community Resource Team Assessment for Laurel is completed and available for review on-line at medamembers.org/LaurelReport.pdf.

The assessment was drafted by a panel of six community development experts who spent two days here in July listening to Laurel residents about the strengths, weaknesses, and the possible future for Laurel.

A community town hall-style meeting is planned Monday, Sept. 10, at 7 pm., upstairs at DJ Palace, to discuss the findings of the assessment and the recommendations made by the panel members.

Laurel Chamber of Commerce Executive Secretary Joanne Flynn said she has not had an chance to closely review the entire 82-page report yet, but she liked what she has seen so far. “All of the panelists have their own set of recommendations and they provide resource information about where to go to get help with implementing their recommendations. We've not had that kind of resource available to us before,” she said.

After that meeting, community leaders will begin the process of development of an action plan to implement the recommendations that appear to have broad-based community support, Flynn said. She stressed the need for input from community members to move the community in the direction that residents want it to move.

The Community Resource Team will return to Laurel after six months, and again in a year from now for additional follow up.

The community assessment the panel conducted was requested by the Downtown Laurel Task Force now known as Laurel Alive, a joint effort of the Laurel Chamber of Commerce and the City of Laurel. Its mission is to develop a plan for the future of Laurel's business district.

The panel collected responses from community members and use that data to determine the direction community members want for Laurel's downtown area.

They held 10 listening sessions at Laurel City Hall to obtain responses to these questions:

€ What are the major problems and challenges in your community?

€ What are the major strengths and assets in your community?

€ What projects would you like to see accomplished in your community in the next 2, 5, 10 and 20 years?

Community assessment team members include Al Jones (Montana Department of Commerce, Regional Development Officer), Lynn Muncey (Beartooth RC&D/CRDC), Karyl Tobel (MDOC/Commercial Loan Fund), James Klessens (Community Matters), Tracy McIntyre (Eureka Rural Development Partners), and Gloria O'Rourke (Montana Economic Developers Association).