2015 18 hot springs

HOT SPRINGS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

REPORT OF

ACCOMPLISHMENTS MAY 2015 – APRIL 2018

PU RPOSE

Unifying Hot Springs for a Sustainable Future OVERVIEW

T

he community of Hot Springs has experienced two intense, rewarding years of learning and action as part of the Empower! Dakota community engagement process with Dakota Resources.

More than 700 citizens of the Hot Springs community participated in focus groups over six months. During a community gathering in January 2016, all information was brought forward from the focus groups, and five priority community and economic development areas were determined. Over 140 Hot Springs area citizens have participated in the priority areas, which include: Housing, Tourism, Business, Health/Wellness and Recreation.

We hope to continue to tell our story to all who will listen and continue to invite people to get involved with whatever is passionate to them. It can be big or small. Making a difference is what counts. From these efforts, it is our hope to continue to learn, connect resources, identify new and emerging leadership, and celebrate our successes with our community, which creates community vitality and stimulates economic growth with the Hot Springs area.

TAB LE OF C ONTENTS A TIMELINE OF THE JOURNEY . . . . . 3 CORE TEAM & LISTENING SESSIONS ....................................4 COMMUNITY GATHERING . . . . . . . . . 5 INITIATIVE TEAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 Business & Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Health & Wellness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

YOUR INVITATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 CONTACT INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . 12

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A T IM ELINE OF TH E JOURNEY MAY 2015

JUNE – DECEMBER 2015

Launched Community Engagement Process

Listening Sessions with 37 groups and more than 700 participants

A 10-member core team chose the purpose: “Unifying Hot Springs for a Sustainable Future”

Community members were asked, “What should we be celebrating today?

What do we want to be celebrating five years from now?”

“The community of Hot Springs, people young and old, are very passionate about the success of their community.”

—Kristi Wagner, Dakota Resources JANUARY 24, 2016

THROUGH 2016

First Community Gathering

Initiative Teams Gather

Over 90 people participated in learning about past processes and studies, and they heard the results of the listening sessions. Five priorities were identified: Housing, Business & Economic Development, Health & Wellness, Social Issues, and Tourism.

Participants signed up for one or more intiative teams working on each of those priorities.

The teams developed their purpose as well as short-term and long-term goals and objectives to move the community forward.

JANUARY 2017

APRIL 24, 2018

Annual Community Gathering

Community Gathering: Report of Accomplishments and a Look Ahead

Report on 2016 and plan for 2nd year in 2017

COME BE A DECIDER!!

Join the Hot Springs Community Gathering at the Mueller Center on April 24th at 5 PM. A light supper will be provided along with a celebration of all the good things happening in Hot Springs! Help us plan for the good things to come!

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C ORE T EA M & LISTENING SESSIONS

Core team

µ Hot Springs

Review of past reports and projects

Listening session – coffee crew

37 GROUPS PARTICIPATED IN LISTENING SESSIONS

700+ PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN LISTENING SESSIONS

Listening session – high school students

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FIRST CO MMUNI TY GATH ERI NG At the firts Community Gathering in January 2016, participants were asked: • What successes can we be celebrating?

• What do we want to also be celebrating?

• What are you willing to start working on now?

90+ PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST COMMUNITY GATHERING

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INITI ATIVE TEAMS

Business & Economic Development PURPOSE

Create and inspire sustainable economic growth ACCOMPLISHMENTS Econ Development initiative team, in conjunction with SHEDCO, has done the following: • Received a USDA grant for geothermal study. A countywide map showing the locations, depths and temperatures of active wells has been created, as well as an interactive temperature flow chart showing heat usage and heat loss for different types of green houses.

• Worked to improve the availability of workforce housing. We’ve examined potential structures; talked with the city, landowners, and developers; determined potential locations; found potential funding sources; and partnered with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Rushmore Region.

• Continued working for business

retention and expansion.

• Facilitated the opening of more than 20 new businesses.

• Marketed to younger professionals ages 20-40 to relocate families and business to the area.

CURRENT PROJECTS • Increasing awareness around shopping local and its impact on our community.

commercial demand of locally grown produce as part of a 10-year goal to establish Fall River as a food hub.

• Completing a gap study to determine what

• Finding a way to have a commercial kitchen in Hot Springs.

Joan Howard | jhoward@live.com

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• Supporting area youth with scholarships in high demand professions.

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• Completing a market analysis for

good and services community members shop elsewhere for and what has enough demand to sustain a retail front here.

I C I PA N

IN ITIATIVE TEAMS

Health & Wellness PURPOSE

Cultivate an Oasis for Health & Wellness ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Creation of the Southern Black Hills Health & Wellness Directory. With 7 core members over an 11-month period and more than 1000-woman hours, we developed a comprehensive directory of more than 40 diverse businesses and independent health and wellness practitioners. This directory helps us to: 1. Increase local community awareness of the expanse of services available in our community.

2. Create a draw from outside our area, making Hot Springs the “go to” destination for health and wellness in the Black Hills.

3. Build a strong platform for future projects involving health and wellness practitioners, Western practitioners, complimentary/holistic practitioners and community members.

• New health-related activities: • Creation and implementation of the Hot Springs Farmers Market by Rajni Lerman • The Southern Hills Holistic Faire by Nancy Anderson-Smith • New health-related businesses: • Body Bliss Spa, Juju’s Naturals, Battle Mountain Physical Therapy, Juxta Nutrition, Wonderment Gardens Herbal Apothecary and Wellness Center, The Dance Studio, Cedar and Sage Botanicals

CURRENT PROJECTS • Develop Fall River County as a food hub • Create a focus on the healing attributes of the Springs Annie Jones | annie@wondermentgardens.com PA

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INITI ATIVE TEAMS

Housing PURPOSE

Building Housing Partnerships ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Developed strategic partnerships

with many stakeholders in developing workforce housing,

including Hult Homes (specializing in work force housing), City of Hot Springs (including many departments and people in key roles), Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Commissioner of School and Public Lands Ryan Brunner, S.D. Housing Authority, S.D. Department of Veterans Affairs, Hot Springs Housing Authority, Builders First Source, South Dakota Community Foundation, USDA Rural Development, local land owners, local builders and tradesmen, investors/ stakeholders, and Southern Hills Economic Development Corporation.

• Passed a residential tax rebate plan at the city council level.

• Worked with the city to formulate an

RFP for selling city-owned property for workforce housing.

• Identified multiple tracts of available land for workforce housing.

CURRENT PROJECTS • Identify and acquire land for a

workforce housing development through purchase or donation.

• Facilitate conversations with all parties involved to “give a little to achieve our goals.”

• Work with the city to see to fruition

the sale of city-owned surplus property and a minimum of 6 new workforce housing units.

• Work with Neighbor Works to see

housing.

• Work with the Hot Springs Housing

Authority to identify needs and grants available to achieve goals.

• Approach the county commissioners to add a residential tax rebate county wide as the City of Hot Springs has done within the municipality.

Greg Foust | greg@hotspringshousing.org

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development of the North 23rd and Washington property into workforce

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INITI ATIVE TEAMS

Recreation PURPOSE

Encouraging and Promoting Recreation Opportunities ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Extensively researched starting an

ice skating rink.

• Had a successful gymnastics program for two years.

• Requested City resurface basketball courts/pickleball.

• Volunteered to assist baseball program with lights if needed.

• Held a tennis clinic in 2017.

• Completed a SHCRI Survey to determine the most wanted activity within a rec center. Top 2: Indoor

walking/running track and lap swimming pool. 86% of respondents stated we need a recreation center for all ages.

• Held a community discussion with

35+ people to discuss recreation center and 3 building options: adding

to Evan’s Plunge, adding to the Mueller Center, or a stand alone facility.

• Built collaborations, including 3 consultations with a volunteer architect and brainstorming meetings with the City & Evans Plunge Advisory committee • Worked on marketing: made 2 SHCRI banners and almost completed work on a SHCRI website.

• Improved our financial outlook: received our first grant from the Giving Circle in 2017, increased our public donations, and held successful fundraisers.

CURRENT PROJECTS winter youth gymnastics program • Host another tennis clinic in September 2018

• Host a pickleball clinic in Sept 2018

CHAMPION

• Continue to collaborate with the City Administration, the Plunge Advisory Committee, the Mueller Center, an architect, the hospital, the school, other organizations, and the public to come to an agreed upon solution for more recreation options and a building structure.

Treese DeBoer | hotspringsreccenter@gmail.com

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• Continue to expand our yearly

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INITI ATIVE TEAMS

Tourism PURPOSE

Leveraging our resources to maximize tourism and visitor experience ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Getting the chamber and city to work closely together alongside area attractions such as The Mammoth Site to advertise with a central message.

• Promoting our natural resources to potential visitors and locals.

• Marketing through social media and other channels to make Hot

Springs a destination, not an afterthought.

• Work on developing and promoting specialty niche markets: • Wellness • Weddings • Outdoor recreation • Hot air ballooning • Creating a master volunteer

list.

• Creating a community calendar.

Theater renovation

CURRENT PROJECTS • Developing community-wide free wi-fi.

• Developing the Ice Age Animal River Walk.

• Promoting Hot Springs through a national ad campaign.

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Presston Gabel | presstong@mammothsite.org PA

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YO UR I NVI TATI ON

Where do we go from here?

Come be a part of the journey!

We invite you to look through the teams’ work on the previous pages and consider: What efforts really excite me?

Where might I be particulary helpful?

What project would give me the greatest satisfaction if I saw it accomplished?

We need your voice, your talents, and your energy to make these projects successful.

It’s time now to commit, or recommit, to one or more of those projects and help Hot Springs move forward!

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646 Jennings Ave. Hot Springs SD, 57747 605-745-3551 info@shedco.org www.southernhillsdevelopment.com

25795 475th Avenue Renner, SD 57055 (605) 978-2804 info@dakotaresources.org www.dakotaresources.org