Alta, IA

The Alta Horizons Community Resource Center (CRC) is soon to become a reality!  The CRC will serve as a “one-stop shop” that will assist the residents of Alta, whether newcomers or current residents in the community. The CRC is designed to refer Alta residents to appropriate resources to meet their needs. And it is also designed to serve as a community outreach mechanism, supporting efforts by local businesses, school and the city to improve the quality of life in Alta.

In May 2008, a good-faith lease arrangement was made to secure the availability of an office space in a building that fronts Main Street in Alta. This location is a high visibility place and is easily accessible to those who wish to utilize the CRC. The first payments have been made toward the affordable lease - and now the excitement is building and preparation for opening has begun.
Work is now under way to ready the facility for a projected fall opening. Details are being worked out for volunteer staffing, building preparation, and other like items to celebrate a grand opening after Labor Day in September 2008.

Horizon in Alta is working to address the need for poverty reduction. A plan of action has been taken to better reach people who are in the  lower income bracket. The local food pantry, The Lord’s Cupboard, on Main Street in Alta, has agreed to make available the “new resident” information cards to clients who visit the pantry on a weekly basis for food needs.  Some of the clientle who seek food assistance are from the Hispanic community in Alta and speak Spanish only and are accompanied by someone in the family who speaks English. Volunteers who work  at the food pantry each Friday will assist “new residents” in getting the cards completed. The next edition of the cards supplied to the Lord’s Cupboard food pantry will also include a comment line asking if someone could be present in the home who speaks Spanish when an ABC volunteer contacts them. It’s another demonstration of Horizons at work in Alta.

Recent editions of the Storm Lake Times and Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune (Alta section) have featured the new ABC (Alta Building Connections) program that is working well under the Horizons Banner. The local media traveled to Alta met with the Horizons work group responsible for the ABC program and took pictures of the presentation of the “welcome resource packets” being given to new residents of Alta. This program has prompted media inquiry and received some good initial coverage introducing the surrounding community to what Alta continues to do to respond to the needs of people in Alta.  Thanks to the diligent efforts of the steering committee members who are doing a fabulous job of following up on a weekly basis with this program.

The Horizon steering committee members that form the work group for Alta Building Connections (ABC) are excited about their first contacts and welcome opportunities in the Alta community.  Since March, 2008,  three visits have been made to homes (at the requests of the new residents in Alta) to stop by and get acquainted and present these new residents of Alta with the packet that provides information about the resources available within the Alta community - things like utilities, cable, health, faith communities, schools, daycare, Chamber of Commerce businesses, county assistance agencies, etc. It’s good to know that ABC is at work in Alta - thanks to Horizons!

Alta Building Connections (ABC), a program formed out of Horizons, is now at work! ABC seeks to welcome new residents into the town of Alta, and also provide them with a packet of information  that introduces them to the resources available in the community.  ABC has received tremendous support from the local businesses (through the Chamber of Commerce) as the community has worked at linking resources and networking information to provide an opportunity for people new to the community to “find their way around.” This is one more evidence that Alta is working to make a difference!

In the February meeting of the steering committee, an exciting proposal was received for  a new community resource center in Alta. This proposal comes as a result of the visioning and action teams that have taken place in Alta since 2006 with the Horizons program. A building in downtown Alta has been made available for use with adequate office space to provide for the needs of the resource center.

The proposal presently before the committee is to have full techonology capabilities with office machines and volunteer staffing at least one day per week at the onset.

The comprehensive benefit of the Community Resource Center is to give visibility to Alta Horizons in the community, provide information and resources for needs within the Alta community. Each work group on the steering committee can be based in and/or work from this center. The Alta Chamber of Commerce has also been approached about jointly using the facility with Alta Horizons.

It is the feeling of the members of the committee that having a highly visible location in downtown Alta will prove beneficial to meet with business  leaders or prospective builders as Alta continues to make progress. It will also provide an ongoing reminder in the community that Alta is taking seriously the plan to address the needs within the community and provide a valuable resource to see that the needs are met.

It is anticipated that having this resource center will also make it possible for us to obtain future grants and funding opportunities that will help address the needs and heighten awareness of community concerns relating to poverty and other issues.

No final decision has been reached on this proposal, but good progress is being made as the excitement continues to grow in Alta for the “grand opening” of the new Community Resource Center.

Two community members, Kris Shannon and Terry Pollard, have been selected to represent Alta Horizons progress and be presenters for a workshop at the 2008 Midstates Community and Economic Development Conference to be held on Wednesday, March 19, at the Marina Inn in South Sioux City, Nebraska.

Alta was selected as one of about 15 communities from Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

This conference is designed to bring together community and business leaders, and elected officials from the three-state area to share their experiences and learn new ideas for community and rural economic development.

Kris and Terry, members of the Alta Horizons Steering Committee, will lead a breakout session at 12:30p on Leadership, which will discuss community capacity building through leadership development with the Horizon Program in Alta. The other community featured during the breakout session will be Tyndall, S.D.

Several other Alta community members will be attending the conference as well.

Everyone from rural communities is invited and welcome to attend.

In the December meeting, Alta Horizons steering committee members unanimously approved a set of guidelines that will serve as a parameter for participation in leadership for the ongoing work within the community. Adopted were guidelines for committee membership, voting criteria, leadership structure, and fiscal responsibility.

Leadership elected for the 2008 year were: Terry Pollard, chairperson, Kris Shannon, vice-chairperson, Bonnie Hach, secretary, and Jim Black, treasurer.

The members were glad to express this as another important step in community involvement to prepare us for developing plans to see change within our community.

Alta city officials are lending not only verbal approval but active participation in the ongoing Alta Horizons program, sending a strong message that the city wants to see the mission of Horizons carried on within the community. Two current city council members serve as active members of the Alta Horizons Steering Committee. Along with this involvement, the Alta city manager/clerk has provided ongoing, regular and invaluable information and support to Alta Horizons by providing information and attending the meetings when needed as well as helping get questions answered that have arisen by the committee members. In recent weeks, the city has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for funds that Alta Horizons will use to continue to address poverty issues within the community, with the city clerk serving as the primary contact person for fiscal needs.

It’s another sign that the city of Alta continues to give its fantastic support to what is being worked on through Horizons within the community.

Cassie Bishop, a member of the Alta Horizons steering committee, recently met with the director of the United Community Health Center in Storm Lake, to discuss more accessibility options to the clinic for the Alta community. UCHC will be unable to provide an on-site clinic in Alta, but they are in the process of preparing to build a new UCHC west of Storm Lake on Highway 7 towards Alta. There will be continued dialog with UCHC to provide good accessibility to those who need it from the Alta community. Cassie has arranged for a spokesperson for the health center to speak to the Alta Horizons committee at their next monthly meeting to clarify questions raised about who can use the clinic, the process of obtaining access to clinic services, and also to discuss with the committee the transportation accessibility and availability issues that have been raised within the Alta community. UCHC information brochures are going to be placed in ABC (Alta Building Connections) welcome packets being provided by Alta Horizons to new residents within the community.