Project Background Marlin Infrastructure failure Industry left Economic
Project Background • Marlin • Infrastructure failure • Industry left • Economic development useless • Rosebud • Did everything right: planning grant, water/sewer grant, engineering work • Still just a drop in the bucket • HOTCOG • Where the money is, right? (wrong. ) • Ultimately, though, where the real resources are megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
Project Background • Heart of Texas Council of Governments, Regional Cities and Counties • Facing funding cuts • Increased costs of providing services • Communities not growing fast enough to raise revenues, quality of life • Old model doesn’t fit anymore • Government grants no longer plentiful, won’t fix most problems • We’ve forgotten how to find solutions from within • Barnstorming tour: what does your city need? • Tools to manage infrastructure • Information to make good policy decisions megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
Gradual Decline • One in five houses in Marlin is vacant – and 2/3 of those vacant houses are not actively for sale or rent – just deteriorating in place megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
Past megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
Present megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
New Tools
Future
Right-sizing • If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it • Tools and information • Band together to get efficiencies • Just measuring it isn’t enough: must right-size • Dave Ramsey for local governments • Asphalt streets = cable TV • Maybe the only way to do this, is to do it together • Resources: www. strongtowns. org • “Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities, ” ICMA and EPA megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
Thank you! • megan. henderson@hot. cog. tx. us
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