Phillips County Input
Employment
- More small business
- Less regulation
- Allow the TransCanada project
- Employee training
- Move in companies to create more jobs
- Improve government policy in regards to agriculture, mining
- Reclamation is ongoing at the mine
- Open some state lands to recreational access and housing development
- Develop access road
Economic Development (private business)
- Develop housing
- Attract new businesses, industry
- Continue revitalization of downtown area
- Continue to fund Phillco
- New call center
- Community center
- Better use of existing buildings; recruit new businesses
- Business directory
- “Welcome” packet for tourists and new residents
- Recruit optometrist, dentist
- Aging population, declining numbers, can’t support local businesses enough to support growth
- Offer employee training in customer service
- Public transportation (community bus; part-time driver; weekly route to Malta)
- Public restrooms
- Public park
- Local grocery store
- Farm-to-cafeteria program to improve access to fresh foods
- Restaurant w/ regular meals
- Traveling doctor/nurse (work w/ Phillips County Hospital)
- Marketing to promote recreational opportunities (landscape & wildlife, ATV trails, campgrounds, hunting & fishing)
- Services to support hunting and tourism (mapping, maintenance, trail safety)
- Develop year-round employment options
- Develop housing (limited by public lands surrounding town)
Housing
- Develop new rentals (multi-family, low income affordable)
- Write grants for home ownership
- Clear some old, unused housing to make lots available for building
- Encourage development of new housing & subdivision
- Encourage housing rehabilitation through demonstration grant
- Host rental information session for potential landlords
- Offer local tax incentives to remove old structures and replace with new housing
- Encourage private development
- Convert old hospital into 2-4 bedroom units
- Create more rentals
- Make housing more affordable
- Build energy efficient housing
- Retrofit current housing for energy efficiency
- Seek grants to develop new housing (current housing stock is older; mobile homes are not energy efficient; need housing for larger families; apartment complex)
- Housing development is limited by public lands, flood plain
- Weatherization program
- Retrofit program to improve energy efficiency
- Develop new rentals
Infrastructure
- Build tax base by attracting new residents
- Recruit volunteers for fire department
- Improve road maintenance (gravel, paving)
- Encourage use of bus
- Replace water system
- Better cell phone & Internet service
- Expand Hwy 2 to four lanes
- Attract employers
- Smart communities
- Create office space to rent
- New system to provide drinking water to all households
- Improvements to sewer system (especially for cold weather)
- Even the road grade where it crosses culvert
- Restrooms at track field
- BLM should improve fire access, signage, and gates on some roads
- Improve maintenance of local roads (gravel, paving)
- Improve sewer system (now all septic tanks)
- Attract younger firefighters
Parks & Recreation
- Dodson has city park & playground, fairgrounds, hunting & fishing access, RV parking, local B&B
- Market hunting/fishing for tourism
- Develop gas station, convenience store, museum, restaurant
- Develop community rec center
- Build partnerships and volunteerism
- Create water park
- Provide bowling facility
- Promote and market city of Malta
- Promote areas like Zortman
- Market through use of pamphlets and informational documents
- Support tourism (wildlife & landscape photography, hunting, dinosaur fossils) by developing services (lodging, restaurant, gas station, public restrooms, public access park, signs)
- For local recreation, develop golf course, bowling alley, community center, weight room, etc.
- 4thof July Celebration, ATV trails, horse-back riding, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing
- Requires trail and road maintenance, ambulance service, law enforcement
- Support through marketing, signs, trail maintenance, safety brochures, maps, history kiosks
- Develop recreational access to Azure cave
Energy
- Develop housing/services to keep gas employees
Health
- Many specialized services, providers are located far distances from here
- Need hospice care
- Help for elders to make medical appointments
Transportation
- Improve Hwy 2 to accommodate increased east-west traffic (Bakken) – “4 for 2”
- Seek north-south public transportation to assist folks to make medical appointments in Great Falls
- Reduce regulations that inhibit private enterprise
Other Ideas
- Community involvement
- Work to bring young people back to all businesses
- House all emergency vehicles in one location
- Reduce Fish & Game, DEQ, EPA regulations
Tags: Building Prosperity, Community, creating jobs, Economic Development, Employment, Health, Hi-Line, Housing, ideas, improvement, Infrastructure, input, Northcentral Montana, recreation, regional development, Transportation