| April 16, 2007
For more information, contact:
Bonnie J. Prigge, (573) 265-2993
MRPC GOES ON RECORD IN SUPPORT OF LEWIS AND CLARK DISCOVERY INITIATIVE
Appoints Dodd, Bone as at-large commissioners
ST. JAMES—Citing the positive economic impact of a $30 million investment in higher education in the Meramec Region, the board of Meramec Regional Planning Commission passed a resolution in support of Senate Bill 389, specifically the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative, during its regular meeting on April 12.
If made law, the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative would provide a one-time infusion of about $350 million for capital improvement projects at Missouri’s higher education institutions, including two in the Meramec Region, and establish a fund to help develop technology companies.
As proposed, Linn State Technical College and the University of Missouri—Rolla would each receive about $15 million in funding. Linn State Technical College would build its Vehicle and Power Center, which was approved by the state a few years ago but funding was never appropriated. UMR would complete the construction of a three-story addition to Toomey Hall and renovate the existing building. Toomey Hall houses mechanical and aerospace engineering programs.
In other businesses, the MRPC board:
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Learned that over $500,000-worth of homeland security grants have been approved by the state for Region I, which includes five of MRPC’s eight counties. Tammy Snodgrass, MRPC’s environmental programs manager, briefed the board on the newly formed Homeland Security Oversight Committee, that includes representations from 14 jurisdictions and is charged with making recommendations on how Region I will spend its homeland security funding allocation. The HSOC, chaired by Bob Hutson of Bourbon, developed a grant solicitation process and reviewed applications and then recommended a slate of projects to the State Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security. The state approved the projects at the end of March. The local HSOC will meet April 19 to review grant conditions and plan implementation of projects. MRPC serves as administrator of the committee and the funded grants.
- Appointed Donald Dodd of Salem to serves as the new at-large commissioner for transportation and Kraig Bone of Cadet to serve as the new at-large commissioner for emergency management. Dodd is the publisher of the Salem News and is a member of MRPC’s Transportation Advisory Committee. He also represented the region in the state’s long-ranging transportation planning process. Dodd fills a vacancy created with the passing of Decky Finn of Vienna. Bone represents Washington County on MRPC’s emergency planning committee and owns an emergency training company. He replaces Dawn Warren of Gasconade County, who resigned.
Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 24, directed by the 52-member MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities. More information is available online at www.meramecregion.org.
The group will meet again May 10 at the MRPC office, 4 Industrial Drive, St. James, MO. Meetings are open to the public.
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