Municipal Development
An initiative from Bayfield County Economic Development Corporation pursued an opportunity with Hewlett Packard Corp to be designated a Digital Village. The lure of a potential $5 million award stimulated over 35 individuals to meet and discuss a vision for how digital technology could energize and enable new approaches and opportunities in rural living.
The vision statement follows. The complete proposal may be viewed here.
Bayfield County’s community vision is to:
Become a model for rural areas on how advanced technologies can be used to create economic opportunity, strengthen a sense of community, and maintain the rural character of an area. Bayfield county will maintain its identity and sense of place while connected to global social and intellectual environments.
Create a community where every citizen has the means and opportunity to reach their full potential, make valuable contributions to civic and cultural life, support their neighbors in need and raise a family in Bayfield County. Unite the community with shared goals, a shared vision of future possibilities, and a dedication to the community good and individual achievement.
Bayfield County will pioneer in breaking the boundaries and barriers of place-based intellectual services in educational, medical, and business enterprises while retaining its rural character and quality of life.
Focus Intellectual Energy - Build on the strength of the County’s high graduation and literacy rates to harness this commitment to high educational attainment and focus it on skills needed for the new technology-based economy.
Bayfield County understands the paradigm shift which has occurred in the global economy where information and the ability to exchange it is replacing physical labor as the engine of economic and intellectual growth. Therefore, we want to educate and train our children and residents on how to use the latest technological tools so they can be part of the new global economy and society.
Expand local school’s investments in electronic networks to allow sharing of specialized expertise between each school in the county which individual schools cannot afford to provide alone. Upgrade each schools "media centers" within five years, ensure they use compatible technology, and coordinate schedules to allow for long-distance learning. Create long-distance learning facilities and offerings for adults and make them accessible to all and heavily utilized within 10 years. Eliminate the barrier of long commutes to providers of adult education to improve the attractiveness of life-long learning and continuous professional development.
Increase connectivity between educational institutions beyond local schools to increase access to resources and library collections needed for advanced study and research. Include a training component so optimum use can be made of existing and future electronic links to libraries and university departments as on-line class offerings are increased.
Within 20 years or sooner, a seamless web of educational resources will exist and be readily accessible to all county residents. Education and training will energize community members and allow them to expand their horizons and reach their full potential.
Enhance Employment - Address a lack of diversification in the County’s economy by creating the infrastructure and entrepreneurial spirit to expand the technology-based component of the economy, attract and grow businesses, and increase employment opportunities.
Continue to work with local utility providers to improve access to wireless and other electronic technology. Achieve complete county coverage within five years and continual up-grades in the long-term.
Attract technology-based businesses to Bayfield County. Encourage a broad-based definition of technology-based businesses to include telecommuting, e-based business service providers, and manufacturers which employ cutting-edge technology. Initial efforts have demonstrated that technology-based businesses electronically linked to their customers are a fruitful area of economic development activity which will produce high quality jobs for residents.
Build a technology themed multi-tenant facility within ten years to provide technology-based businesses with advanced centralized services, equipment, and technical assistance. This facility could host companies utilizing advanced manufacturing technologies and/or virtual companies providing business support services via web-based forms of communication.
Improve connections between K-12 educators and businesses to ensure the curriculum will provide the skills needed for future employment opportunities and access to higher educational opportunities. Promote basic understanding of business principals and operations through initiatives such as Bay Quest by simultaneously focusing on attracting technology-based businesses and improving skill levels of residents to work in and start those businesses, the current pattern of out-migration can be reversed in the long-term.
Ensure that all Bayfield County youth are adequately prepared to work in technology-based businesses by equipping each student in one grade level with personal communications devices and advanced training on their use within five years and all grade levels within ten years. In the long-term, a computer will be seen as an indispensable component within the school curriculum and a vehicle to transfer computer literacy through family networks.
Preserve Local Culture - Bridge a growing cultural divide in the County’s community by creating forums to link long-term residents with new residents. These forums will expand cultural understanding, social interaction, and mutual exploration of opportunities for the sharing of information, expertise, and resources among all community members.
Create electronic forums within five years to foster discussion and interaction regarding community affairs, sharing of community expertise and talents, development and critical analysis of ideas, and wide-spread involvement in the political process. Maintain the heritage of the area and preserve existing unique skills, especially within the Native American community by fostering venues for cultural exchange between long-time and new residents and tribal and non-tribal community members.
Advance Community Education - Increase electronic connectivity within the community by improving access to and acceptance of electronic media communication between all elements of the community. Create links between media centers, civic organizations, and individuals to foster a virtual democracy.
Connect each community center to the internet. Provide marketing and training to ensure full use of communications resources by community residents. Initially target teachers, empowering them to increase technology use within current curriculum. Make a special effort to train tribal members and the elderly both of which are underserved. Create and electronically link a pool of local leaders that can be an immediate source of talent to address community and social issues and strengthen local governance.
Improve the quality of life by expanding access to medical services via remote access technology and a system of mobile diagnostic medical and dental clinics within 15 years. Facilitate volunteer efforts to decrease isolation of home-bound elderly, efficiently deliver social services, and ensure the needs of the disadvantaged are being met.