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FAIRMONT - As the Region Nine Development Commission develops the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for all of South Central Minnesota, Thursday gave city leaders and economic development experts a chance to share what they have seen, thought and imagined for the future.
Region Nine Deputy Director Jessica Beyyer said the commission has 39 members, including James Kotewa as one of the members for the Fairmont area. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Toby Spanier said the reason they were there is part of engaging with the entire region.
"We’ll put together information that will help inform a lot of the different avenues," he said. "Planning for jobs, businesses, housing, childcare, infrastructure and quality of life. It also is an opportunity, by doing this plan, that we’re able to get resources in and be eligible for certain grants at the state and federal level, primarily the federal level for some of the EDA grants. It’s really important because it’s really a roadmap to help our communities and our region."
Questions were shared in the room and people were encouraged to share and discuss questions with each other. As for visions for 20 years in the future, Fairmont City Councilor Britney Kawecki said she spoke with people at the meeting focused on manufacturing and industry, as well as other community members.
"Focusing on, like, the 1590 does this agricultural thing," she said. "One of the times they focused on is technology in agriculture and learning about the drone technology, the robotics, and focusing on that possibly as to where we need to go with manufacturing and industry in our area because it’s so agriculturally strong.”
On the subject of biggest community needs and opportunities that need to be addressed, Hollee Klesh said childcare is one of the bigger barriers Fairmont has to having younger workers in town. City Administrator Jason Baker said the people he talked to discussed finding ways to keep people in Fairmont.
"It’s that gap after they graduate high school, they go away, and they don’t come back for a while," he said. "How can we help keep them here?"
Regarding what local organizations and public and private partners need to work together and who is responsible for moving it forward, Fairmont Lakes Foundation Chairman Jon Omvig said a facilitator is needed.
"Someone’s got to be the glue that brings it together," he said. "You need a champion, but someone has to be the voice."
STEP Executive Director Heidi Smith said part of that champion role has to be holding people accountable.
"Which is never the sexy part of the role, but it’s the truest part of the role," she said. "I have been in other communities where they had a nonprofit that became that project manager who said, 'Hey, are you doing your part? Are you doing your part?' Their role wasn’t the doing, but the managing of the doing, and it brought about swifter, faster change."
The conversation then moved to strengths that can be built on and big barriers that need to be removed so priorities can come forward. Omvig said he sees the community’s barrier as an inability to look outside of Fairmont to see what is possible, learn from others and look at best practices.
"You don’t always have to be the first person to create the idea," Spanier agreed. "You can learn, we can learn from others for sure. I like that."
From there, focus shifted to improving education, jobs, technology and resilience, as well as ways the community and the region can be better off. Fairmont Opera House Executive Director Blake Potthoff said a lot of Fairmont's improvements and strengths have not been capitalized on.
"What's come up a lot in our conversations is, 'The lakes are such a hidden gem and this or that is such a hidden gem,'" he said. "Why do we have to be hidden? We talked about dumping money into advertising, marketing and promotion. Not just for tourism, but infrastructure and things we have here. Remote workers [are here] because the broadband infrastructure is coming in to make it easier to work from home in this area and get the small-town life. Those types of things that we should not be hiding and keeping to ourselves; we should be shouting from the mountaintop."
A meeting was also held later on at 5 p.m. that was open to the public to learn about Region Nine, the U of M Extension and share their thoughts on what should happen with the future of Fairmont.