OCR Text |
Show Proposed Bristlecone Project . Holds Open House For Input Recently formed Bristlecone Community Development Corporation will host a public exhibit at the Tropic Town Offices on Friday, Oct. 8, from 4-6 p.m. Bristlecone is a community-based, non-profit entity organized to develop and manage man-age 173 acres of town-owned land west of the new Tropic baseball park under an operating lease from the town. Bristlecone's charter is to use and develop the land to fulfill long term economic, educational, education-al, community, and social needs for Tropic and surrounding areas. Tropic Town acquired title to the land in the late 1990s via a special act of the U.S. Congress, after portions of the property were designated part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. The informal Open House includes maps, planning scenarios, scenar-ios, architectural concepts, and public opinion surveys to attract citizen input and participation. Bristlecone board member Gaia Greenhalgh says, "We want everyone to stop by to look at the exhibits and give us their comments. The more ideas we have, the better the project can be planned to accommodate targeted tar-geted needs. We also want people peo-ple from across Garfield County to come, because many of the activities are specifically designed to serve all regional communities." The project is in the early planning stage and is designed for expansion and continued con-tinued development over time, as resources become available. Current planning concepts include a civic center for social and community activities; a business and economic development develop-ment facility; and an art, natural history, and interpretive center to promote regional value added tourism. Additional features include hiking, biking, equestrian equestri-an trails and related recreational facilities. Bristlecone Chairperson Shauna Talbot explains, "A community development devel-opment corporation operates much like a co-op to provide . valuable services for its members mem-bers who are both customers and owners. Bristlecone provides pro-vides specific community services serv-ices to all regional residents under the direction of its Board of Trustees. Every area resident is, in effect, both a customer and member of Bristlecone. All area residents are encouraged to actively participate in Bristlecone's development and activities". The Board's adopted mission statement is "through careful stewardship of resources, the Bristlecone Community Development Corporation will . encourage education, economic development, and recreation opportunities. Bristlecone will endeavor to meet the needs of the broader community by forming partnerships, linking generations, and encouraging involvement; while preserving natural beauty and cultural heritage". her-itage". As an independent non-profit entity, Bristlecone is able to directly apply for grant funds and participate in other attractive attrac-tive financing programs- to achieve its mission. "Bristlecone has already attracted attract-ed support from Economic Development Corporation of Utah, USDA-Rural Development, Develop-ment, SmartUTAH, US Forest Service, and the State Bank of Southern Utah. We are very thankful to all our partners, who are helping us make the Bristlecone concept a reality," reports Shauna Talbot |