Alternatives: Proposals For Local Governments Struggling With Limited Resources
Alternatives: Proposals For Local Governments Struggling With Limited Resources
In the fall of 1994, the Harry Singer Foundation invited a limited number, of mostly small-town schools, to take part in a pilot program. Students were required to find ways to stretch the resources of local government and make services more responsive to the desires of citizens. The Foundation hopes to gradually add larger communities, and offer categories for innovative state and national projects.
Volunteers at the Foundation narrowed the entries to 22. They were then edited and sent to the National Center for Financial Education in San Francisco, California, where they were reduced to five. These five were then forwarded to a consultant and former-public official in Minnesota who has been in the forefront of the reinventing government movement; the innovative mayors of Indianapolis and Houston, 12 governors, two former-governors and two members of the United States Congress. Many had the help of staff, but all read the proposals and expressed an interest in what these young people had to say.
The final entries are reproduced on the following pages, just as they were seen by the reviewers at the National Center for Financial Education in San Francisco. Across from each paper we reveal the school and participants, information that was kept from judges.
This project was a logical extension of our continuing Responsibility and White Hat programs. Over the years, through student submissions and other sources, we have collected stories of good-things going on around the country, in both the public and private sectors. These inspirational examples have been accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem since the fall of 1993.
Teacher
Rochelle Rasmussen
Students
Carmen Pederson
Nichole Husman
Patrick Carlson
Travis Andersen
Spencer McCombs
Mandy Nelson
Luke Johnson
Debbie Stevens
Tara Edman
Ellen Holmberg
Stacey Thompson
Jessica Lounsbery
Lesley Bertrand
Bryan Stevens
Becky Ward
Carrie Peterson
Jamie Austin
Jon Eide
Jason Williamson
Pat Lee
Michael Myer
Jeremy Smetana
Dustin Larsen
Mark Moor
Kristie Trudeau
Ryan Austin
Restoring the Dam and Beach Areas
Have you ever looked at a place so timeworn and dilapidated that you were able to say, "I remember how it was."? That's how it is for many of my classmates. They remember when they were young and would go to Gunderson Park (the beach) and play. Now, after the flood of '84, it is run-down, and nothing beautiful left. Our class decided to do something about this.
The Activity
We conducted two polls. The first poll questioned 200 residents and the second included business owners, members of the city council, school board members, the mayor, members of the Rotary club and church leaders. Residents were asked about ways to stretch resources and save money to improve the community. The responses, in order of popularity, follow: recreation for kids, repairing streets, removal of a stop sign, new business, cleaner water, new homes, snow removal, recreation for everyone, volunteer work, welcome signs, better public facilities, better sidewalks, recycling center, public gym use, a higher speed limit, a community play, home mail delivery, a faculty adjustment, less emphasis on sports, elimination of sports with low attendance, superintendent to teach, and a new track. Those in the second poll were asked, "What services do you think are in danger of being cut back should funds become scarce?" The answers to this poll follow: pay raises for state and city employees, street repair, funding for school activities, financial aid for college kids, transportation, Medicare, police and fire departments, an increase in class size and decrease in teachers and extra-curricula activities.
At first our class liked an idea for renovation of the theater downtown, but we decided that since the theater had not been used for a number of years, it may not be structurally sound. The class also decided that if the building was safe to use, the owner may not be willing to approve the idea, especially if he was liable should any accidents occur. Our class also considered building an off-road bicycle and snowmobile trail. After some discussion, we also felt that if we were to adopt such a proposal it would involve the purchase of land. Since the purpose of the project is to stretch and conserve resources, that was a strong point against the plan. When we further understood the liability involved the class decided the plan was no longer feasible. Another student thought we could ask for a donation of paint from businesses and enlist volunteers to restore the building fronts on our main street. We discarded this idea also because the class felt we could do more for our community.
The Project
Finally we decided to work on restoring the dam and beach areas of town. We liked the idea of working on the dam and the beach because we decided the best alternative was working on a resource that our community has already. This way we could save money and show people how just a little help on a project could make a big difference. We divided the class into two groups. One worked on the dam and one on the beach. The dam group decided to fix the stairs, build small places for fires, construct bridges and a deck over the floodgates. The group spoke to the Game, Fish and Parks Department about having open fires at the dam site. They were told the land belonged to the city so they called city hall and spoke to the city auditor. The auditor told us that open fires at the beach and the dam would be within the boundaries of the city's ordinances and the city made it clear that it didn't want either project to result in any extra maintenance. The beach group first decided on general clean-up, building campfires and shelters and making an ice skating rink. Over time both groups came to realize that their plans would be too expensive. The class had to learn to work around costs. Dix Johnke, a local farmer, volunteered to donate the gravel needed to fix the driveway at the beach. For campfires, we decided to build our own with small rocks as a ring.
The class plans to get community support by advertising in the local paper. We thought that we could ask the community to donate materials like lumber, nails and grass seed. The Garden Club, Town Boosters and various other community organizations offered to donate materials and time. The Garden Club, whose members are mainly retirement age women, offered to organize materials and volunteers.
Incentives and Disincentives
This project would not cause anyone to lose a job as no one in the community has even had an interest in (Gunderson Park) the damn or beach for quite some time. This is the reason that the class decided to take on this project. We feel that this project would get the curiosity juices of the community flowing and hopefully there would be a great future for the parks.
This project would create a safe environment at the two parks for people of the community to enjoy. The project would also make Gunderson Park and the dam a clean place for wildlife refuge with no cost to taxpayers. The park would be made useful through this proposal and it would spark community interest.
There are problems to this proposal also. Many people of this community are parents who both have jobs and little free time. There are also retired residents of the community who are interested in this project but felt that they could not handle the project alone. Another problem with this project is the possibility of injuries and liability. The city would not only be responsible for the workers who plan to carry this project through, but also for the users of these facilities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to add that we feel this project is a worthwhile idea and
could be modified for almost any community, big or small. The community seemed to support
the idea. The clean up efforts would not cost the community any money because each item we
asked for would be donated. This is our way of expanding and stretching resources. The
park is for everyone. All we want to do is to just help out. It's like my grandpa always
told me, "No one can do everything but everyone can do something."
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