JEDI March Meeting

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Jasper County Economic, INC.

Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020 at 1:15 P.M.
Jasper County Chamber Building
Peoples State Bank Meeting Room
124 S. Van Buren St, Newton, IL. 62448 

Attending: Beth Probst, Andy Johnson, Marlene Harris, Mindy Hartke, Sarah Kinkade, Scott Bierman, Amber Volk, Mark Bolander, Ben Bollman, Ed Webb, Jack Thompson, Jason Warfel, Tom Brown, Mike Hall, Adrian Guzman, High School students: Payton Kinder, Kenny Hartke. 

  1. Call to order, Chairman Scott Bierman 2. Motion to approve previous January 2020 meeting minutes made by Mark Bolander, second by Ed Webb, motion passed. 3. Adrian Guzman will be presenting on Virtual Reality Videos; a huge marketing opportunity for Jasper County! a. Adrian Guzman’s contact information: 
  2. Cell: xxx-xxx-xxxx 
  3. Personal Email: removed for privacy

iii. School Email: removed for privacy 

Monthly Updates 

  1. Amber Volk, Executive Director 
  2. 2020 Census: https://www.illinoiscensus2020.com/ 
  3. April 1st, 2020. Groups historically undercounted: Veterans, minority 

communities, college students, foreign born Illinois residents (documented & undocumented), retirees spending summer in Illinois & winter in warmer climates, farm families residing in rural counties, persons living in large housing units or apartment complexes, children under age 5, homeless. 

  1. Undocumented individual equals loss in funds/grants for schools, roads, services, improvements. 2. Info is kept confidential by the U.S. Census Bureau. 3. Will be available online, phone, & mail. I will send more information when it becomes available how to complete the Census online. ii. Connect Illinois: https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/ConnectIllinois/Pages/default.aspx 
  2. Governor Pritzker recently launched a statewide initiative, Connect Illinois, to expand broadband access across the entire state. Connect Illinois includes a capital investment from Rebuild Illinois, the creation of a Broadband Advisory Council and Broadband Office, and a new program that will provide all Illinois public K-12 students access to high- speed broadband at no charge. The initiative also includes a $400 million  broadband grant program and a $20 million capital program for the Illinois Century Network, a high-speed broadband network serving K-12 and higher education institutions, among others. b. Mark Bolander, Mayor of Newton 
  3. Lottery for 5 free lots in Five Aprils subdivision. May 5th, 2020. 
  4. Lots are valued at $30,000 
  5. Spread the word!
  6. Jason Warfel, Jasper County Board 
  7. County Board meeting is next Thursday. ii. Jail project is moving forward. d. Andy Johnson, Superintendent of Jasper County Unit #1. 

 

  1. Regarding the VR technology, we are currently talking about what is the best way  to have these services for the entities and how to go about with payment. This technology is visionary and the newest and greatest best thing for our kids to be learning. ii. We will be working on a video of the school board members speaking about the upcoming school building project. e. Sarah Kinkade, Chamber of Commerce Director 

 

  1. Chamber Banquet is March 16th. Free for Chamber Members, $10 for others. The Island Grove Men’s Choir will be the entertainment. ii. Nominations for Citizen of the Year end March 9th. Contact the Chamber if you would like to nominate someone. 

iii. The monthly Chamber meeting will be the second Monday of this month at 

Irene’s Vineyard at 6pm. iv. Jasper Together is going great. There is retention of numbers and people of all ages attending. 5. Comments from those attending the meeting. 

  1. Motion to close meeting made by Jack Thompson, second by Jason Warfel , and motion passed.