Participants at the January 13 meeting for the Garden Valley Job Creation/Retention Council offered their input on the values they would like to see considered in, and the visons they have for, job creation in the community. They included the strengths and weaknesses they see in the area, the opportunities it might provide, the threats that might prevent the Council from succeeding and any additional comments.
John Cottingham has been the picture of that ole cliche "a house afire" since he left the Boise County Planning and Zoning Board and decided to pursue his dream of creating a job council in the county. He and his cohort, John Jauregui, are asking community members to review the content of these responses below and propose a Values Statement and a Vision Statement, each not to exceed 35 words, that express your ideas of what the Council could stand for. Don't be afraid to be lofty, but keep it compact. You can post it here or mail it to John Cottingham, P.O. Box 802, Garden Valley, Idaho 83622; cottinghamj@aol.com or to Cottingham or John Jauregui at info@gvchamber.org. The Council or Chamber may be reached at 208-462-5003.
VALUES
* Supportive
* Family Values
* Community Spirit
* Integrity
* Loving & caring
* Loyalty
* Don’t change the values, but make it healthy financially for the sake of the people of Garden Valley.
• Free running rivers
• Beautiful vistas
• Privacy
• The community looks like a real Idaho town – change Crouch – new Merc is OK – keep a Western feel
• Wildlife & Birds
• Respect Environment
• Natural Resource Protection
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Destination for visitors
• Quality
• Work ethics
• Trust
• Community representation
• Local business use of = available to everyone
• Protect the environment
• A place for families
• A spirit of contribution to the community
• A place for children of the community to be challenged and find successful careers
VISION
*A bedroom community to Boise, with appeal to visitors nation-wide
*A beautiful resort town huddled in the mountains that provides recreation of all sorts & job opportunities, including a career, school & college extension courses.
*Development of an employed middle class without degradation of the environment (right now we have seniors/retirees & young families scraping by)
• Everyone is your neighbor. Always someone around to lend a hand or socialize with.
• We value our western heritage, open pastures for stock and wildlife alike, small town atmosphere, cabins nestled in the forest, wild and woolly whitewater and 4th of July fireworks, meeting friends and family in town, open hearts, open range and the chance to make a life and a wage free of oppression and coercion.
• Solvency
• Maximum employment opportunities
• Clean land & water
• Green
• Clean & natural environment
• Community of involved, trusting residents, living & working in GV
• Responsible growth
• Infrastructure improvement
• Peaceful/stillness/physical environment
• Small town relationships due to low population
• Open space, vistas, low traffic, low population
• Integrity
• Ethical behavior
• Family unity
• Supportive of one another
• Community support
• Camaraderie
• Warm, friendly environment
• Helping hand
• Respect for diversity
* Assisted living & Long-Term Care Center- provides a nice balance of professional & unskilled labor jobs.
* Concert series in Crouch Community Hall with Country & Folk & New Age artists.
• Better employment opportunities
• Lower commuting to Boise for employment
* We see a bright future for Garden Valley where all can thrive environmentally, financially and commercially, while sustaining our unique western lifestyle, family values and entrepreneurial spirit.
* To create, reinforce and maintain an honorable, clean, environmentally healthy environment for our children, adults and the elderly and the wildlife with which we share the mountains, rivers and forests.
• Economic prosperity
• Joblessness eradicated
• Enhance city center to accommodate all needs without commercializing the valley
• Keep as many products locally manufactured
• Make the valley a bedrock of cooperative enterprises
* A place where we and our children find meaningful contributions that challenges us and lead to success.
STRENGTHS
• Beauty
• Ambulance
• Dirt roads
• Rural atmosphere/lifestyle
• Not living next to people
• Not having zoo-like atmosphere of Sun Valley/McCall, lets people have free fun without ruining the environment.
• Location to major city
• Access to recreation
• Natural Resources
• New school, new library, new clinic
• Beautiful, healthy valley
• Friendly community groups
• Close to Boise
• River fun – outdoor recreation
• Agriculture
• Friendly/collegial community
• Pristine natural environment
• Maintains western charm
WEAKNESSES
• Cell tower
• Diverse opinions on growth
• Infrastructure
• Lack of jobs
• Remote
• Improve accessibility
OPPORTUNITIES
• National Guard may not be the best. What type of town are we building?
• Image improvement
• Cultural festivals
• Use park on river
• CUMO
* Something like a SIKES call center if we had a T1 data line here.
• Do a survey of what skills already exist here.
• Engage the retired community
• Maintain a community resume
THREATS
• Too redneck orientation, keep political opinions more open
• Sparse law enforcement; they are good, but they are spread too thin
• Lack of pride in property appearance & general aesthetics
• Apathy: job and population growth; many are happy with ”status quo”
• Property values prohibit middle class buyers from owning a home
• Loose building codes & zoning laws
• Change of quality of life
• Change rural lifestyle (i.e. small town grows big)
• Accessibility
REMARKS
* Supporting new small businesses to let people know they are there & help support them by shopping there even when the weather is not the greatest.
* More local support for the local businesses.
* Blake’s Idea – Outdoor Idaho come here for 4th of July.
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