Community brainstorms for positive development
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ARLEE – Community members took the first step towards making their ideas come true during the Arlee Community Visioning Event on Saturday.
“This is about bringing the community together to identify others that have a passion for this place but maybe don’t have a voice,” Arlee Community Development Corporation coordinator Shannon Patton said before the meeting got started. “And we want to find out what people want in this community.”
Community members discussed projects that would benefit Arlee after they filled the old high school gym, decorated with castle walls, floor to ceiling pillars, and a knight’s armor from Friday night’s prom.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal leaders, CDC organizers, the school’s superintendent, church leaders, library officials, trails committee representatives, business owners and community members attended the gathering.
Three Montana State University Extension officials facilitated the event. MSU Extension Director Dan Clark asked the group what makes Arlee a great place to live. The overall consensus was that the community was friendly and people felt a sense of connection that they might not get in a big city.
MSU Extension official Blake Christensen encouraged people to take the good things about the community and work forward.
“There is so much power in bringing a room like this together,” he said. “This is your process. It really is what you make of it.”
The group wrote down some of the things they would like to see developed in the community including utilizing locally grown food, recycling, job development, activities for kids, and a focus on culture and family. Several people suggested that the speed limit through town needs to be brought back up or lowered.
CDC official Donna Mollica stood up to speak to the group during the event about the community’s visioning work in the past. She said the CDC was created about two decades ago to support projects and help bring in grant funding. She said the community has worked to develop trails, more park space, plant trees, and the sewer project was created.
“This community has a track record of volunteerism,” Mollica said. “We have the library, veterans memorial … all sorts of rich resources and all of it by volunteers with no local government.” She encouraged people to develop another vision for the next ten years: “Think big today in your vision.”
She said the CDC has resources to procure grant funding if the community is invested. “It’s amazing how much support there is for collaborative community efforts.”
TJ Felsman, a sophomore at Arlee High School, said he would like to see the museum expanded so locals and tourists can learn more about the area. He would also like to see a focus on music related events.
“This is a good town,” he said. “This place, the whole area, it feels like home, and I want to see people come together so we have a good future.”
For more information about participating in the development of the community vision as it develops, contact the CDC at 726- 5550 or arleeworkshop@ gmail.com.
