Town Halls being held for community input on Grundy’s economy

MORRIS – The Grundy Chamber and the GEDC are inviting the public to attend a town hall event to share their thoughts and visions for the future of Grundy County.

The Advancing Grundy Town Hall Meetings will be an interactive event asking the public about their vision for Grundy County’s economy. The town hall meetings are a part of the Grundy Resiliency Project being done by the Grundy Economic Development Council and the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

There are three opportunities to attend a town hall meeting: at 5 p.m. on July 23 or at 8 a.m. on July 24, both meetings are being held at the Wesley Center in Morris, 111 W. North St. There is also a virtual option via Zoom at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 23. Registration is requested and can be done at resilientgrundy.com.

“At the town halls people will be given a summary of the Advancing Grundy project and its goals. They then will be asked questions to provoke comments and thoughts regarding the hopes and ideas our community has for Grundy’s future,” Chamber President & CEO Christina Van Yperen said.

The first 20 people to attend each meeting will receive a $10 Grundy County Chamber of Commerce gift certificate, which can be used at any of the Chamber’s 550 member businesses and organizations.

“We need to hear from the people who live here, those with families here, as well as business owners and our local leaders. Everyone’s input is necessary for us to gather information to create a strategic plan to diversify our future economy,” GEDC President & CEO Nancy Norton said.

This stage of the project is to create a roadmap for Grundy’s economic future. The organizations were given a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2023. These grants help nuclear host communities plan for and build more diverse, resilient economies. Grundy’s grant is being matched 20% by Grundy County, and North Central Council of Governments is assisting as the grant administrator.

In the spring, the GEDC and Chamber contracted with TIP Strategies, Inc., an economic development consulting firm to conduct the Economic Diversification and Resiliency Plan to identify, recommend, and justify key initiatives, action items, and market-driven opportunities for economic diversification in Grundy County to enhance the county’s economic prosperity and resilience. Upon completion, this diversification and resiliency plan will be used as a tool to inform and guide comprehensive planning, business attraction, infrastructure investments, and marketing.

The completed diversification plan is expected in the fall. The scope of the project is over 24 months overall and includes future steps of researching the decommissioning process of nuclear plants and an implementation plan for the Resiliency Project.