Event to be held at NYM ballroom

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The annual New York Mills Community Kick Off will take place next week on Wednesday, Jan. 22 starting with a social hour and light lunch at 5:30 p.m. This event is sponsored by the Civic & Commerce Association and they encourage everyone to attend to learn about the plans going on in the next year.

Everyone has an opinion on how they think their local officials should be running things, but oftentimes don’t take the time to learn what’s really going on in the community. The kick off is exactly for that reason, to get more locals involved in their own backyard to move forward with plans that benefit everyone and have their voices heard.

During this annual event, several presentations take places, often including a keynote speaker, a mayoral address, an update from the school superintendent and a briefing from the chief of police. This year’s keynote speaker will be Jordan Grossman, a representative from the Community and Economic Development Associates, which provided NY Mills with grant monies to be used for economic development within the city.

“She’s going to be giving a presentation on how we’re trying to promote NY Mills this year,” said Julie Roberts, president of the Civic & Commerce Association. “She’s been working with us on our economic development through that grant. We’ll also be talking about the new wave of the redevelopment loans/grants that are available to businesses in Mills because we were approved for the second round of those. This is our sneak peak into next year, what our plans are for the next year.”

Roberts said that she is most looking forward to showing the community what the city and Economic Development Authority (EDA) board has done with the CEDA funding in that past year and what they hope to accomplish next.

“We’re going to talk about what we’re doing as a Civic & Commerce,” she said. “With my position with the city, how we’re trying to make sure our business owners know what opportunities are out there by forwarding on grant opportunities and things like that. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get the community’s input on any ideas they might have that we could pursue.”

While the past Community Kick Off events have had varying attendance, Roberts hopes that everyone with any interest in the city’s development and local happenings will stop by and listen in as well as give their constructive feedback. This event is intended to do just that, help bridge the gap between those who are constantly involved within the city and those who aren’t always able to attend every meeting.

“I think it shows the community how we are trying to promote New York Mills as the whole package where you can live, work, and play, just like Otter Tail County is stressing,” she said. “It also gives the community an update on what they might be seeing changing or new things that are coming in the new year. I really hope to see a lot of new faces there,” she said.