Quality of Life When a person lives with comfort, in an - PowerPoint Presentation

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Quality of Life

When a person lives with comfort, in an

environment

in which all citizens can

thrive

, prosper, and be safe.

The group established these items of importance that are related to Quality of Life:

Availability of

jobs

that provide a living wageEducation opportunities Recreation & HobbiesHealth Care Safety and Security Affordable Housing Arts/Art Opportunities Entertainment/Festivals

Youth based opportunities

Choices in faith based institutions

Choices in shopping

Beautification of public and private areas

Public transportation

Senior Citizen Services

Adequate Motel and Restaurant Facilities

Availability of Jobs that provide a living wage

-

We need jobs that will provide a living wage. Economic Develop should recognize the value of small and large business development and growth from both existing and new industry.

Education Opportunities - While we have a variety of choices when it comes to both youth and adult education (public, private, homeschool, internet) more attention/value needs to be placed on the development of soft skills to include work ethic training so when the economic development team presents our community to a prospect we will have a labor pool able, ready, and willing to go to work.

Recreation and Hobbies

- Our community and surrounding area hold a wealth of recreation opportunities and we are located close enough to the ocean, mountains and cities for easy travel by car. We enjoy both public and private access to hunting and fishing. The Department of Leisure Services is adequate, providing a variety of services but there is great opportunity for expansion into different classes. Consideration could be given to partnering with Wiregrass or the Arts Council for classes such as cake decorating, ballroom dance, landscaping, etc. The community needs a better way of communicating what we do have with the general public.

Health Care – Overall, the committee (which had hospital representation at the table) believes that the health care services are adequate for any prospective economic development prospect. A broad base of primary care, emergency room service, hospital with both inpatient and outpatient services, home health, hospice, DMC , and nursing home facilities all bring quality care to our citizens. Citizens need to support the health care establishments in our community for this level of service to continue.

Safety and Security

– We have excellent public service departments that protect and provide emergency services. These include Fire Protection (both city and county), Police, Sheriff Department and EMS. Progressive economic development requires the cooperation of all of these entities to assure that assets and people are protected. The committee believes that there is opportunity for these entities to have a broader interaction with the children of the community and youth of all ages. Not just when the children are in lower grades but throughout their school years and beyond. There needs to be more visibility of officers.

Affordable Housing – The committee consensus is that we currently have too much voucher/subsidized housing. Voucher/subsidized housing brings people into a community who generally draw on other services with little contribution to our county. A serious look should be undertaken at the many dilapidated rental properties that are eye sores and safety hazards in our existing community. Land lords should be held to certain standards and codes should be enforced.

Arts and Art Opportunities

- An abundance and a variety of Arts and Art Opportunities are available and adequate for a community our size. There is a lack of participation from our minority citizens in the existing opportunities and these need to be explored to identify what could be done for more participation in these activities from our minority citizens.

Entertainment and Festivals - The continuation and promotion of the existing festivals (Chicken, Harmony Jubilee, Jumpers, Barbeque Competition) should be built upon for growth and tourism. The committee that organizes the Grand Homecoming should be approached to have this event on a biannual basis. With the success of the Grand Homecoming, consideration should be given to having other reunion events such as band, chorus, athletics etc. The location/venue of the entertainment and festival events should be rotated as facilities allow for the inclusion of all members of the community. The committee commends Jon and his management of the Grand Theatre. He is dedicated to providing the community with entertainment opportunities for all ages.

Youth Based Opportunities

- With brainstorming, we identified many opportunities both within the school system and outside the school system. Some of which are Department of Leisure Services teams and classes, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, Art Council camps and activities, and faith based activities. There needs to be a directory or calendar of events that is maintained and current for parents to review and be in the know about these opportunities.

Choices in Faith Based Institutions

- Our community has adequate choices of faith based institutions. There should be a directory to provide additional detail for locations, services, and activities for each congregation.

Choices in Shopping

- With the creation of jobs there will be more people willing to open and locate shops in Fitzgerald. The committee agrees that, for the most part, a large part of the retail purchasing of domestic products will continue to go out of the area regardless of growth. We need to look at our existing strengths and build upon them. An example would be the recent inclusion of 4 local businesses into the Antique map of Georgia. Expanding this type of business can make our town become a location destination for antique shopping. Prospective shop owners need to be made aware of the SBA (small business administration) facility in Valdosta and all of the help they can provide for startup businesses.

Beautification of Public and Private Areas

- The continuation of the community development department and its effort to eliminate abandoned/substandard properties needs to continue. Prospective industry needs to be aware, when looking at our town, how far we have come in this area and that work in this area continues. Many community programs have been instituted over the years to focus on beautification but seem to have fallen to the wayside. These programs need to be reinstated with vigor and purpose. Some suggestions and examples were the Adopt a Mile trash pick-up program, utilize the prison/jail inmates in a more effective/efficient program, support county and city code enforcement for them to be aggressive and consistent in enforcing current codes, and enforce fines for littering just as if it was a speeding violation.

Public Transportation/Airport Facility

- The recent addition of the public transportation bus is to be applauded. With time, it is hoped that this service will expand to week-end service. We need a cab service to fill the gaps. Our airport is exceptional for a town our size.

Senior Citizen Services – We have a nice facility to serve our senior citizen population however with both local, state, and other funding cuts, that facility is coming up short on meeting some of the needs of this group. Prospective industry will look at how we treat our elders. Local funding as well as grant opportunities need to be explored to expand and continue services.

Motel and Restaurant Facilities

- The committee consensus is that we are in dire need for a consistently clean and comfortable motel facility with adequate rooms to accommodate our festival, business and family events. These units must stay modern and up to date. Abandoned and blight hotels need to be addressed as a single bad experience with one of these businesses could turn away future visitors, tourist and business prospects. We have a variety of restaurants but they limit their hours and days of operation.

Additional Notes: In all of the categories there emerged a theme that residents of our county are not aware and do not know how to obtain information on many of the quality of life subject areas. We need a comprehensive directory that all information about our community could be found, along with contact information so prospective industrial clients and current residents could get information. It should be inclusive and maintained on a weekly basis as needed.

Also, the committee recognizes that everything cost money and our funding, both private and public is limited. We would like to recommend that a grant researcher and writer either be trained within our government entities OR be brought on as a contract associate (many work on contingency basis) to search for and obtain funding that would assist in some of the above mentioned areas.