Improving communication goal of newly formed board
Local municipal and county officials met recently to form a Joint Economic and Community Development Board as a requirement of last year’s 1101 Growth Plan agreement.
Present at the meeting were County Executive Kenneth Rogers, McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport, Centertown Mayor Arthur Lorrance, Viola Mayor Kevin Lawrence and local landowner Gary Martin.
“Really, we’re just forming,” Rogers said. “But it’s supposed to help the economic and community growth of Warren County.”
“I think the intention was to be more of a coordinating kind of thing,” Davenport added, “so that every community is involved in what we’re planning. That was the idealistic vision of this, but the necessity is it’s required by 1101 and there’s certain penalties if things come along down the pike that we want to get involved in and we don’t have this group functioning. Then we’ve got problems.”
“Such as grants and things like that which could come into play,” Rogers said. “But I guess the main thing is it gives the county executive and the mayors a chance to sit down and discuss issues facing the county.”
The board will be split into two entities, the full board and an appointed executive committee. The full board, as set up per 1101 guidelines, will include the county executive, the mayor of McMinnville, a mayor from one of the county’s other three municipalities who will serve on a rotating basis, a local landowner and a representative from a local business or industry.
The board members were given terms of two years to run by community rather than individuals since elections might fall within the term for some municipalities resulting in a different mayor finishing out a board member’s term.
It was decided the order of rotation for the terms of the mayors from the other municipalities would be Viola first, then Morrison and Centertown third.
The executive committee was established to include the county executive and whichever of the other mayors was currently serving his term in rotation.
Once the organizational portion of the meeting was complete the full board was made up of County Executive Kenneth Rogers, McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport and Viola Mayor Kevin Lawrence. Gary Martin was chosen as the county landowner and McMinnville Electric Service’s Rodney Boyd, who was chosen to represent local business, rounded out the group.
The full board will be required to meet four times a year and the executive committee eight times a year according to Rogers with the first meeting to be in July of this year. The Joint Economic and Community Development Board was set up as a requirement of 1101 and has no formal legislative powers.