Striving for Three Star Community status
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The program, which has been around for more than two decades, has recently been revamped at the request of Gov. Phil Bredesen with the intent of making Three Star status more attractive to communities and renewing interest in the program.
Previously many communities felt the program offered minimal benefits, and the amount of information that had to be gathered and submitted to achieve Three Star status was an inconvenience. But now, under Bredesen’s direction, the program offers significant financial benefits in the form of state grants to those communities which make the effort to met the criteria to achieve Three Star certification.
“The Three Star program has been around for 22 years,” said Chamber of Commerce president Lea Chrisawn. “But a lot of people have not been involved because it’s a lot of paperwork and they felt like it wasn’t beneficial. That was one of the complaints they had about it, that it really didn’t give you any advantage to be a Three Star program.”
The program did provide points on grant applications, Chrisawn said. But where before the program only provided one point or so, communities can now, at the highest tier, receive up to five grant points, plus a 5 percent reduction on matching funds for grants, and $50,000 extra in grant funds.
According to Chrisawn, Warren County is well on the way to achieving tier three status with programs the county presently has in place. Chrisawn said the program in its new form will be introduced later this year.
Both Chrisawn and County Executive Kenneth Rogers said the program will provide broad benefits to the county.
“One great thing about this Three Star program,” Chrisawn said, “is that if the whole county is certified as Three Star, then if Viola applies for a grant, they get the same advantages as, say, McMinnville would.”
“Viola, Centertown, Morrison, all of them,” Rogers said.
Rogers and Chrisawn both feel Three Star status will be a boon for the entire county, and offer benefits in several areas.
“The points for grants will be great,” Chrisawn said. “And the reduction of matching funds is huge.”
But Chrisawn said the benefits actually go beyond the financial advantages and savings, and will be a benefit when working to recruit industry and business as well.
“It’s one of those things where it speaks that we’re a well-rounded community,” she said.