FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 23, 2005
For more information contact:

Shawn Reese, Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Manager
Office: 307.777.2813

Wyoming Business Council to survey community enhancement needs for Community Facility Grant

CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Community Enhancement and Facilities Needs Assessment is now available to cities, counties and towns across Wyoming. The assessment is the first step towards understanding individual community enhancement needs and will gauge communities' readiness to implement those enhancements.

The survey addresses improvements to historic buildings, cultural and civic facilities, parks and recreation, landscaping and streetscapes, or community centers. Communities are asked to relate all the enhancement needs to an economic or community development plan.

The needs assessment is part of the new Community Facilities Program. The thrust of the Community Facilities Program is to help communities reuse former school and government buildings as community centers. The Legislature recognized that not all communities have vacant school buildings and there are other community enhancement needs, which may need to be addressed in the future.

The assessment is available on the Community Development Center section of the Wyoming Business Council’s Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org. Assessments are due by August 1, 2005. The Wyoming Business Council will then compile the information for presentation to the Joint Appropriations and Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committees by September 1, 2005.

“Building stronger communities involves more than infrastructure for commercial districts, industrial areas and neighborhoods,” said Wyoming Business Council Business Ready Community Manager Shawn Reese. “The goal is to make Wyoming communities better places to live, work, visit, as well as better places to pass on to future citizens.”

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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