The Marshall County Council members received information Monday morning about proposed READI grant projects before considering a resolution to support matching funds for the projects.
Marty Oosterbaan from the Marshall County Crossroads Regional team was before the council to discuss three projects for the county’s contribution for consideration of READI grant funding that addresses workforce productivity, community health and well-being.
Oosterbaan said, “Specifically, these initiatives are geared [one] to address the acute shortage of professional nurses in Marshall County, [two] to improve workforce productivity through reductions in sick leave and chronic illness and health insurance costs all while making Marshall County more attractive as a place to move to, or a place to relocate a business to or start a business in which is a Blue Zones initiative, and [three] is to improve workforce productivity through job simulation and training by establishing a Career Innovation Center that would be geared toward the needs of both the workforce in Marshall County as well as the work places in Marshall County.”
Ginny Bess Munroe, who is also a member of the Marshall County Crossroads Regional team, said the proposed projects were developed through a study of challenges in the county and more than 150 committee members broke into subcommittees to address those challenges. Munroe said over the past four years the members have engaged with the public in the county’s communities to find a way to solve the challenges.
“Among all the stakeholders we talked to, among all the businesses we engaged with, not one person said ‘fix my road’ or ‘pave my road’. Not one. We gave them infrastructure as an option. We gave them parks and rec. We gave them trails. We gave them housing. The number one was quality of life – give us a better quality of life,” said Munroe.
Marian University’s Ancilla College Chancellor Joe Heidt spoke about the need for a simulation and skills lab to support a nursing degree at the college to address a shortage in nurses.
Heidt commented, “It is one of demand for the need of nurses, but also a very significant interest in terms of demand for students that are aspiring toward healthcare careers.”
Linda Yoder and Scott Graybill discussed the Blue Zones health initiative.
“Once implemented, Blue Zones makes healthy choices – the things we all know that we should do like eating right and exercising – it makes those decisions easier to make because the right things to do are right there,” said Yoder. “Healthy food at the convenience store, safe and enjoyable ways to walk and bike to school and work – accomplishing these things on a county-wide scale is going to be hard, but you get the benefits from the work invested year after year after year. Preventing and delaying chronic illness adds productive years and that’s important with an aging population like ours.”
Committee members traveled to a Blue Zones region similar to Marshall County to research what works and does not work there to see what can be implemented in Marshall County. If awarded funding, work will continue with Blue Zones executives for nearly four years and see where the county would proceed at that point.
Lastly, Allie Shook from Lifelong Learning Network discussed the construction of a Career Innovation Center to train students for the workforce and upskill adults already in the workforce.
“A lot of that work will go into retention first which is something that we know we need to do, but also attraction,” said Shook. “We have over one hundred manufacturers here in Marshall County and we want to provide the courses at our Career Innovation Center in our classes that they need.”
Marshall County Community Corrections Director Ward Byers said programs offered at the Career Innovation Center could get those clients the skills needed to reduce recidivism.
The hour-long presentation focused on those projects which led to a decision on a resolution for council support of a READI Grant match of $2.175 million. The match would only be spent if the projects are approved. An application has yet to be submitted.
The Marshall County Commissioners voted 2-1 last week in support of the READI grant support. Commissioner Stan Klotz did not support the Blue Zones portion of the application.
A motion was made to approve the resolution with a second. Councilman Jesse Bohannon objected to the motion citing an Indiana Code (36-2-4-7(b) pertaining to the process involved in approving an ordinance on the same day it is introduced in that it needs unanimous approval. It was noted that the document was resolution and not an ordinance.
Councilman Tim Harman said the initiatives in the county’s READI Grant application have merit, but he would not support it as it is a large ask and pointed to the condition of the county’s roads. He cited size, scope and priority.
Bohannon commented that he did not think this was a “constitutional mandate as a county council” and there are other areas of government that are responsible for the areas proposed. He believes the money should be spent on the council’s “fundamental responsibilities”.
A roll call vote found Harman and Bohannon opposed to the resolution while council members Heath Thornton, James Masterson, Mandy Campbell, Jon VanVactor, and Steve Harper voting in favor of the resolution. With that, the resolution passed with a vote of 5-2.
There was a member of the public who spoke out against the Blue Zones project, and another community member who made comments on how the council members are spending taxpayer money.
