7 June 2005
Governor’s Rural Life Task Force Seeking Rural Communities for Pilot Project
TOPEKA - Governor Kathleen Sebelius today announced that her Rural Life Task Force is seeking two rural communities to take part in a two-year pilot project that eventually will serve as a template for other communities pursing more sustainable futures.
“Many Kansas communities are facing the same challenges, whether it’s a declining population, a weak economy or access to health care,” Sebelius said. “What I want to do through the Rural Life Task Force is find two communities ready to identify how these problems can be solved.”
The Governor’s Rural Life Task Force will select two communities for the pilot project and also will serve as a bridge between the community and state and other support agencies.
“We’re looking for communities that have a well-defined sense of the issues they seek to address, as well as the leadership and human resources needed to complete the project and document the process,” said Marci Penner, director of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, who is co-chair of the task force with Dan Nagangast of the Kansas Rural Center. “The task force will help by supporting the community’s efforts through mentoring, helping to identify and remove barriers to success and, in some cases, providing hands-on technical assistance or training.”
A community can be a town, an alliance of rural communities, or a consortium of niche businesses, like small-town grocery stores, as long as the outcome of the project could benefit many communities. If the community is a town, it must have a population of less than 2,000. If the community involves several towns, each must have a population of less than 2,000.
The community’s project will be deemed a success if it improves quality of life, helps sustain the community and provides increased economic opportunity for the people who live there.
A description of the community pilot project and the preliminary application form are available online at http://www.ksgovernor.org/workgroups_rltf.html. Communities have until July 15 to apply to participate in the pilot project. The two communities selected for the project will be announced Nov. 15.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius assembled the 43-member Rural Life Task Force in 2003 to bring together many representative voices of rural communities to cultivate a common vision and preliminary action plan to preserve and enhance rural Kansas. They were selected for their energy, enthusiasm and dedication to all facets of rural Kansas. Although they represent different communities, professions and memberships, they share a commitment to rural Kansas.
