Friday, October 30, 2009
Is Social Media a Fad?
I'm am currently involved in helping with four Facebook pages about a half dozen websites and two blogs. I had to stop and ask myself the other day. Is this all a fad? Well I came upon the following information on youtube. Judge for yourself.......Check out this link.
Neighborhood Revitalization Program Has Positive Impact
Since the Neighborhood Revitalization Program was adopted county-wide nearly $19 million in construction projects have been approved in Mitchell County, KS.
The program was adopted county-wide in October 2006. It offers an incentives to both home owners and businesses to make improvements to their properties, build additions and construct new buildings. The incentive is a tax "rebate" based on the increase in the value of the proprety after the improvement is made.
Local taxing entitites also say they like the program because it does not take away any existing tax revenues. For example if the taxes on a property are $1,000 per year and you put up a new building that increases the taxes by $1,000. The local taxing entities will still receive the $1,000 in taxes. What they "rebate" is based on the additional $1,000 that was added to the tax value of the property.
A property owner can receive a rebate up to 95% on improvements made to their home or commercial building. It can also be applied to new construction. The 95% rebate is good for 3 years. On the 4th year it drops to 80%, the 5th year 70% and so on for a total of 10 years in the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
Applications for the program are available at the Mitchell County Appraisers office. They must be completed and approved by the county commissioners before any work can begin. The project must increase the value of the property at least $10,000 and it should be completed within a year.
Once the work is completed you will also need to complete a form to notify the Appraisers office the project is finished. So they can inspect it again and set the new property value.
It is important to note. This is not a tax abatement program. It is a rebate and the property owner is responsible for paying the "full amount" of the taxes including the new, increased portion. After receiving the payment the county will figure the amount that is to be rebated and return 95% .
Local taxing entities participating in the program include Mitchell County, the cities of Beloit, Glen Elder, Cawker City, Tipton, USD 273 and USD 272.
For more information on the program call 785-738-2717 or 785-569-1465.
The program was adopted county-wide in October 2006. It offers an incentives to both home owners and businesses to make improvements to their properties, build additions and construct new buildings. The incentive is a tax "rebate" based on the increase in the value of the proprety after the improvement is made.
Local taxing entitites also say they like the program because it does not take away any existing tax revenues. For example if the taxes on a property are $1,000 per year and you put up a new building that increases the taxes by $1,000. The local taxing entities will still receive the $1,000 in taxes. What they "rebate" is based on the additional $1,000 that was added to the tax value of the property.
A property owner can receive a rebate up to 95% on improvements made to their home or commercial building. It can also be applied to new construction. The 95% rebate is good for 3 years. On the 4th year it drops to 80%, the 5th year 70% and so on for a total of 10 years in the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
Applications for the program are available at the Mitchell County Appraisers office. They must be completed and approved by the county commissioners before any work can begin. The project must increase the value of the property at least $10,000 and it should be completed within a year.
Once the work is completed you will also need to complete a form to notify the Appraisers office the project is finished. So they can inspect it again and set the new property value.
It is important to note. This is not a tax abatement program. It is a rebate and the property owner is responsible for paying the "full amount" of the taxes including the new, increased portion. After receiving the payment the county will figure the amount that is to be rebated and return 95% .
Local taxing entities participating in the program include Mitchell County, the cities of Beloit, Glen Elder, Cawker City, Tipton, USD 273 and USD 272.
For more information on the program call 785-738-2717 or 785-569-1465.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
2010 U.S. Census Important to Community
The annual census is much more than just counting how many people live in our community. It could make a difference in whether we receive millions of dollars or not.
I recently met with Lech Wisniewski a Partnership Specialists with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. He is putting together local community teams to assist in getting the community ready for the 2010 Census that will begin next Spring.
According to Wisniewski the last census in the year 2000 covered roughly 2800 residences in Mitchell County. Unfortunately only 68% of the people responded to the census leaving 32% of the people uncounted.Wisniewski said federal funds are tied to the census based upon the number of households included in the data they gather. If 32% of the households are not counted he estimated that we have missed out on $3,300 per household or approximately $3 million in federal funding. Since the U.S. Census is done every 10 years that means we have missed out on $30 million dollars. We can't let that happen again.
The Census count affects federal grant funding for many, many programs. Some of those include the National School Lunch Program; Adult Education; Special Education Grants; Community Services Block Grants; Head Start; Low Income Home Energy Assistance programs, Medicaid Grants to States; Special Programs for the Aging; Community Development Block Grants; Employment Services; Unemployment Insurance Programs; Highway Planning and Construction.
Census questionnaires will be delivered or mailed to households via U.S. mail in March 2010; many households will receive a replacement questionnaire in early April. Census workers also will visit households that do not return questionnaires.The questionnaire will be quick, easy and confidential for you to fill out. There will only be 10 questions and should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. You will NOT be asked your Social Security Number, credit card information or any other private information.
Remember, just taking 10 minutes to fill out a questionnaire could affect our community's chance to receive millions of dollars in grants and federal funding. Take the time to be counted in the 2010 Census.
I recently met with Lech Wisniewski a Partnership Specialists with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. He is putting together local community teams to assist in getting the community ready for the 2010 Census that will begin next Spring.
According to Wisniewski the last census in the year 2000 covered roughly 2800 residences in Mitchell County. Unfortunately only 68% of the people responded to the census leaving 32% of the people uncounted.Wisniewski said federal funds are tied to the census based upon the number of households included in the data they gather. If 32% of the households are not counted he estimated that we have missed out on $3,300 per household or approximately $3 million in federal funding. Since the U.S. Census is done every 10 years that means we have missed out on $30 million dollars. We can't let that happen again.
The Census count affects federal grant funding for many, many programs. Some of those include the National School Lunch Program; Adult Education; Special Education Grants; Community Services Block Grants; Head Start; Low Income Home Energy Assistance programs, Medicaid Grants to States; Special Programs for the Aging; Community Development Block Grants; Employment Services; Unemployment Insurance Programs; Highway Planning and Construction.
Census questionnaires will be delivered or mailed to households via U.S. mail in March 2010; many households will receive a replacement questionnaire in early April. Census workers also will visit households that do not return questionnaires.The questionnaire will be quick, easy and confidential for you to fill out. There will only be 10 questions and should not take more than 10 minutes to complete. You will NOT be asked your Social Security Number, credit card information or any other private information.
Remember, just taking 10 minutes to fill out a questionnaire could affect our community's chance to receive millions of dollars in grants and federal funding. Take the time to be counted in the 2010 Census.
Monday, October 26, 2009
News About the BJCF History
Heather Hollingsworth, a reporter for the Associated Press recently wrote a detailed story about the history of the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility for Girls.
The story has been picked up by many news outlets from coast to coast. It has been reported nationally by the Associated Press, MSNBC and here by the National Public Radio.
The story has been picked up by many news outlets from coast to coast. It has been reported nationally by the Associated Press, MSNBC and here by the National Public Radio.
Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility
After more than 120 years of operation the state of Kansas closed the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility. The facility closed on August 28,2009. This is a great loss to the community and the many people who worked there.
Today we are looking to the future to see what may become of the buildings and land that are located just west of the Beloit Junior/Senior High School.
We have a new task force with representatives from the City of Beloit, Mitchell County Commission, USD 273, NCK Tech College and the hospital.
They have met with State Senator Janis Lee who plans to introduce legislation in January asking the state to "return" the property to our community. Representative Clay Aurand will introduce similar legislation on the Kansas House of Representatives.
The reason we say the legislation will ask the state to "return" the property is because the original Girls Industrial School was built on land given to the state. The Women's Christian Temperance Union started a reformatory school for girls in 1888. The Legislature approved $25,000 to start the state facility in Beloit but they wanted the city to secure a minimum of 40 acres at no cost to the state. The people of Beloit donated 80 acres of land and the state took over the facility and began construction a larger building.
The task force has been working to document the land that was given to the state as well as any donations that were given to start the facility. From what we have learned the donations originated from individuals and most likely those associated with the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Anyone with information that may assist us can call 785-738-2717.
While the task force is working to document the origins of the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility to help build our case for asking the state to return the property. The group is also looking forward to prepare for receiving the property and find new ways to utilize the buildings and the land.
The main portion of the property or "campus" has roughly 12 building on 23 acres of land. Two buildings are currently occupied by the Mitchell County Partnership for Children and Early Learning Center. Other buildings include a school, gymnasium, cafeteria, administration building, dormatory style living units, a lock-down jail facility, greenhouse, shop buildings, a residence, barn and more.
Adjacent to the "campus" is 15 acres of agricultural land to the west and 28 acres of agricultural land to the north.
At this time the task force is preparing a budget and will discuss how the proeprty will be handled and expenses such as utilities and maintenance will be addressed. It is important that the community be prepared if the legislature does agree to return the property.
The task force is also considering how the buildings and ag land can be utilized in the future. They are balancing many options and want to do what is in the best interest of the community.
If all goes as planned our Legislators will introduce their bills in January and they will begin working their way through the legislative process. It is possible a decision could be made sometime by the end of March, 2010.
Updates on the status of the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility will be provided here on the Mitchell County Community Development blog.
Today we are looking to the future to see what may become of the buildings and land that are located just west of the Beloit Junior/Senior High School.
We have a new task force with representatives from the City of Beloit, Mitchell County Commission, USD 273, NCK Tech College and the hospital.
They have met with State Senator Janis Lee who plans to introduce legislation in January asking the state to "return" the property to our community. Representative Clay Aurand will introduce similar legislation on the Kansas House of Representatives.
The reason we say the legislation will ask the state to "return" the property is because the original Girls Industrial School was built on land given to the state. The Women's Christian Temperance Union started a reformatory school for girls in 1888. The Legislature approved $25,000 to start the state facility in Beloit but they wanted the city to secure a minimum of 40 acres at no cost to the state. The people of Beloit donated 80 acres of land and the state took over the facility and began construction a larger building.
The task force has been working to document the land that was given to the state as well as any donations that were given to start the facility. From what we have learned the donations originated from individuals and most likely those associated with the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Anyone with information that may assist us can call 785-738-2717.
While the task force is working to document the origins of the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility to help build our case for asking the state to return the property. The group is also looking forward to prepare for receiving the property and find new ways to utilize the buildings and the land.
The main portion of the property or "campus" has roughly 12 building on 23 acres of land. Two buildings are currently occupied by the Mitchell County Partnership for Children and Early Learning Center. Other buildings include a school, gymnasium, cafeteria, administration building, dormatory style living units, a lock-down jail facility, greenhouse, shop buildings, a residence, barn and more.
Adjacent to the "campus" is 15 acres of agricultural land to the west and 28 acres of agricultural land to the north.
At this time the task force is preparing a budget and will discuss how the proeprty will be handled and expenses such as utilities and maintenance will be addressed. It is important that the community be prepared if the legislature does agree to return the property.
The task force is also considering how the buildings and ag land can be utilized in the future. They are balancing many options and want to do what is in the best interest of the community.
If all goes as planned our Legislators will introduce their bills in January and they will begin working their way through the legislative process. It is possible a decision could be made sometime by the end of March, 2010.
Updates on the status of the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility will be provided here on the Mitchell County Community Development blog.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Role of Social Networking in Marketing & Communication
I think it's only appropriate my first blog should address the value of social networking and the Internet in today's marketing and business communication.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Patsy Terrell who handles marketing for the Kansas Cosmosphere. Patsy utilizes a variety of social networking sources to help market one of the top tourist attractions in the state. She uses her blog, Facebook, Twitter and other resources to reach out to people and get them interested in coming to the Cosmosphere. And the best part is the networking sources she uses are completely free.
Now what does this have to do with us in Mitchell County, Kansas? It could have a lot to do with us. We could be using these "free" sources to promote our businesses, marketing our community and simply communicate important messages to a vast number of people both locally and abroad.
Facebook currently has over 250 million active users. Over half of them log on every day and the average Facebook user has 120 friends in their "network". To a business those individual users and their network of friends could be a gold mine for free "word-of-mouth" advertising.
Major retailers have already figured this out. According to Patsy 86% of major retailers are already using Facebook to market their products. And that is expected to jump to over 95% next year.
Locally there are several businesses who have started using Facebook to promote their businesses. They include The Perfect Pair and Becker Auto in Beloit. We would like to encourage more of our businesses to utilize the Internet as part of their marketing plan. It's easy to use and if you need help just contact me at 785.738.2717 or 785.569.1465 and I can help you get started.
Facebook is the fastest growing social networking source for people 35 and older.
But there are other sources you can use to market your product and communicate with a broader audience. Twitter is also very popular. According to Patsy, Twitter is used more by people aged 45-50 than any other age group, followed closely by 25-34 year olds. More than 9 million people are on Twitter and it's growing rapidly.
Twitter doesn't have all the photo, games and frills that Facebook uses. But it is more of a "communication" tool. You are limited to messages using 140 characters or less. While that can be a limiting factor you may find that more people use Twitter on their cell phones and other mobile communication devices. Both Facebook and Twitter can be connected and used in unison.
Finally a third source of social networking and communication is the use of a "blog". Which is exactly what we have created here. According to Patsy a Pew study in 2008 showed 42% of Internet users have read blogs and experts think that number should be higher because many times people are reading blogs thinking they are regular websites.
Blogs are a very effective way of communicating with a vast number of people. Politicians, Organizational Leaders, Universities and community leaders are starting to use blogs in place of newsletters to communicate ideas and information. That is the purpose of our blog that has been developed as a communication tool for Mitchell County Community Development.
We plan to use our blog to provide local news and information concerning economic development, business, community development, community activities and programs in Mitchell County, Kansas. In the days, weeks and months ahead we plan to cover topics including but not limited to business marketing opportunities, business incentives and programs such as our Neighborhood Revitalization Program. We hope to provide updates on programs being offered by the Small Business Development Center in Concordia. We will cover other subjects including housing, business expansions, construction at our hospital, the Bio Science Industry and we will discuss our ideas for future use of the former Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility.
We hope this will be something that is interesting and useful to those who are interested in our businesses and our community.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Patsy Terrell who handles marketing for the Kansas Cosmosphere. Patsy utilizes a variety of social networking sources to help market one of the top tourist attractions in the state. She uses her blog, Facebook, Twitter and other resources to reach out to people and get them interested in coming to the Cosmosphere. And the best part is the networking sources she uses are completely free.
Now what does this have to do with us in Mitchell County, Kansas? It could have a lot to do with us. We could be using these "free" sources to promote our businesses, marketing our community and simply communicate important messages to a vast number of people both locally and abroad.
Facebook currently has over 250 million active users. Over half of them log on every day and the average Facebook user has 120 friends in their "network". To a business those individual users and their network of friends could be a gold mine for free "word-of-mouth" advertising.
Major retailers have already figured this out. According to Patsy 86% of major retailers are already using Facebook to market their products. And that is expected to jump to over 95% next year.
Locally there are several businesses who have started using Facebook to promote their businesses. They include The Perfect Pair and Becker Auto in Beloit. We would like to encourage more of our businesses to utilize the Internet as part of their marketing plan. It's easy to use and if you need help just contact me at 785.738.2717 or 785.569.1465 and I can help you get started.
Facebook is the fastest growing social networking source for people 35 and older.
But there are other sources you can use to market your product and communicate with a broader audience. Twitter is also very popular. According to Patsy, Twitter is used more by people aged 45-50 than any other age group, followed closely by 25-34 year olds. More than 9 million people are on Twitter and it's growing rapidly.
Twitter doesn't have all the photo, games and frills that Facebook uses. But it is more of a "communication" tool. You are limited to messages using 140 characters or less. While that can be a limiting factor you may find that more people use Twitter on their cell phones and other mobile communication devices. Both Facebook and Twitter can be connected and used in unison.
Finally a third source of social networking and communication is the use of a "blog". Which is exactly what we have created here. According to Patsy a Pew study in 2008 showed 42% of Internet users have read blogs and experts think that number should be higher because many times people are reading blogs thinking they are regular websites.
Blogs are a very effective way of communicating with a vast number of people. Politicians, Organizational Leaders, Universities and community leaders are starting to use blogs in place of newsletters to communicate ideas and information. That is the purpose of our blog that has been developed as a communication tool for Mitchell County Community Development.
We plan to use our blog to provide local news and information concerning economic development, business, community development, community activities and programs in Mitchell County, Kansas. In the days, weeks and months ahead we plan to cover topics including but not limited to business marketing opportunities, business incentives and programs such as our Neighborhood Revitalization Program. We hope to provide updates on programs being offered by the Small Business Development Center in Concordia. We will cover other subjects including housing, business expansions, construction at our hospital, the Bio Science Industry and we will discuss our ideas for future use of the former Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility.
We hope this will be something that is interesting and useful to those who are interested in our businesses and our community.
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