Roundtable meeting aims for action

With the help of some inspiration from the Small Business Administration, a group of local citizens and business owners aim to make a difference in the economic situation of Fort Scott.

Fort Scott Community College President Clayton Tatro facilitated the Fort Scott Economic Development Conversation, a round table meeting which began with the goal of coming up with a plan to improve the local economy. Tatro said the meeting, which was held Friday, was the first step in making positive improvements to the community.

"I really think this is the beginning of something great," Tatro said.

The nearly 30 participants in the discussion included representatives from local banks, the City of Fort Scott, Bourbon County, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, the Bourbon County Economic Development Council, the United States Department of Agriculture, SBA, state and national leaders.

"We want to use all resources available," local citizen and former Bourbon County Commissioner Bill Brittain said.

The meeting came as a result of several local leaders which met with Chuck Davis, of the SBA in Fayetteville, Ark. who talked about how to build communities back up through the use of micro loans and the SCORE network. The SCORE network is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small business start, grow and succeed nationwide.

The key to the use of the SCORE network is the use of technology to communicate with the 12,400 volunteers across the nation. Tatro said that through Fort Scott Community College, the community has all the technology needed to effectively utilize the network.

One of the biggest challenges with the group is not getting in the way of other community organizations such as BEDCO and the city's economic development department. Tatro said during the meeting that each entity has it's own roll and the goal is to "develop and action plan" and to "speak with one voice."

"We're not on the same page," Tatro said. "I'm not sure if we have a common definition of what economic development is in Fort Scott."

The result of the meeting was the creation of three smaller groups: the building committee which will focus on the selection of a downtown building which could be rehabilitated and start the rebuilding process of downtown -- as well as focus on the rehab of the Western Insurance building; the micro loan committee which will focus on funding opportunities through the mirco loan program offered by the SBA; and the resource committee which will focus on setting up partnerships between organizations to get plans in action and moving forward as quickly as possible.

Tatro said that a key in making the plan work is to give timelines and deadlines to the committees, the first is that each committee will meet by Oct. 15 and get organized and decide what role each committee member will have.

Tatro said the goal for the whole group is to be "not just a visioning committee but an action committee."