OneAthens wrap-up
Lots of interesting and promising things coming out of last night's OneAthens meeting. Blake has a good summary of the events, and here are some of my thoughts ...
- While I do still have some marginal concerns about unnecessary competition for funding, Delene Porter worked to alleviate many of my prexisting ones. She said that the foundation would only be pursuing large grants that either haven't been accessed yet by the community or are unfeasible for existing non-profits to pursue. This, in turn, would then enable the foundation to funnel the money to the local providers as needed. I'm still somewhat concerned about competion for local dollars through, say, donations or an annual giving campaign, but I feel much better after last night.
- Porter also said she intended to meet with the existing service providers to complement their services rather than duplicate or compete. I think some of the former is inevitable, but that's to be expected on some level.
- The big thing, arguably, is the proposed basic health coverage for the 14,000-plus uninsured in Athens-Clarke County, and I think they're taking an innovative approach to this. It will be a health care plan, but will receive funding through grants, as well as support from the existing hospitals in town. Plus, at the outset, the plan will only be valid at the existing clinics. Coupled with the move to have the Athens Neighborhood Health Center designated with a Federally Qualified Health Center Status which would free up untapped federal and state funds, as well as attract new physicians to serve. Out of all of the proposals, I felt this was the most thorough and the best one.
- UGA Director of Community Relations Pat Allen - 'If this is to succeed, you have to realize that this is going to be the most difficult thing we've ever done ... but it will be worth it.'
- Lots of questions from the audience, mostly dealing with transportation with Mayor Heidi Davison noting that SR 845, which is currently before the Georgia General Assembly, could open up additional revenue sources. She also noted positive work by MACORTS in the direction of expansion of service into the surrounding areas and added that Athens Transit would soon sell advertising on the buses and bus stops to increase revenue. I've wanted them to do the latter for some time now, so that's good to hear.
- Red Petrovs noted that OneAthens convened a GED summit last week to discuss how those which offer those tests and education can extend and expand their training opportunities.
- Judge Steve Jones - 'There are 155 ideas that were suggested in this process, and those things still need to be done, but this is where we start.'
- The Living Wage crowd was out in force, though the honest answer to why it wasn't factored into the final plans was that, quite frankly, the Georgia General Assembly has banned the local communities from enacting one. Again, I've got some disagreements with some of their arguments with the primary one being that if you increase access to child care, health care and job training, you'll see individuals save money and develop the potential to earn more money. Suggesting that it's the cure-all for our economic woes is misguided to me.
- Doc Eldridge noted that the Regional Economic Development plans are underway, and they are currently awaiting the completion of some studies of the region done by some outside sources (including the state, but I may be wrong about that). Coupled with health care and child care, this is the key initiative to me.
- While I do still have some marginal concerns about unnecessary competition for funding, Delene Porter worked to alleviate many of my prexisting ones. She said that the foundation would only be pursuing large grants that either haven't been accessed yet by the community or are unfeasible for existing non-profits to pursue. This, in turn, would then enable the foundation to funnel the money to the local providers as needed. I'm still somewhat concerned about competion for local dollars through, say, donations or an annual giving campaign, but I feel much better after last night.
- Porter also said she intended to meet with the existing service providers to complement their services rather than duplicate or compete. I think some of the former is inevitable, but that's to be expected on some level.
- The big thing, arguably, is the proposed basic health coverage for the 14,000-plus uninsured in Athens-Clarke County, and I think they're taking an innovative approach to this. It will be a health care plan, but will receive funding through grants, as well as support from the existing hospitals in town. Plus, at the outset, the plan will only be valid at the existing clinics. Coupled with the move to have the Athens Neighborhood Health Center designated with a Federally Qualified Health Center Status which would free up untapped federal and state funds, as well as attract new physicians to serve. Out of all of the proposals, I felt this was the most thorough and the best one.
- UGA Director of Community Relations Pat Allen - 'If this is to succeed, you have to realize that this is going to be the most difficult thing we've ever done ... but it will be worth it.'
- Lots of questions from the audience, mostly dealing with transportation with Mayor Heidi Davison noting that SR 845, which is currently before the Georgia General Assembly, could open up additional revenue sources. She also noted positive work by MACORTS in the direction of expansion of service into the surrounding areas and added that Athens Transit would soon sell advertising on the buses and bus stops to increase revenue. I've wanted them to do the latter for some time now, so that's good to hear.
- Red Petrovs noted that OneAthens convened a GED summit last week to discuss how those which offer those tests and education can extend and expand their training opportunities.
- Judge Steve Jones - 'There are 155 ideas that were suggested in this process, and those things still need to be done, but this is where we start.'
- The Living Wage crowd was out in force, though the honest answer to why it wasn't factored into the final plans was that, quite frankly, the Georgia General Assembly has banned the local communities from enacting one. Again, I've got some disagreements with some of their arguments with the primary one being that if you increase access to child care, health care and job training, you'll see individuals save money and develop the potential to earn more money. Suggesting that it's the cure-all for our economic woes is misguided to me.
- Doc Eldridge noted that the Regional Economic Development plans are underway, and they are currently awaiting the completion of some studies of the region done by some outside sources (including the state, but I may be wrong about that). Coupled with health care and child care, this is the key initiative to me.
posted by Jmac at 7:31 AM
1 Comments:
About how many were in the audience?
Post a Comment
<< Home