White Cloud Making A Pitch

L-R Andrew Stafford, White Cloud Fellow and April Storms White Cloud City Manager. The upcoming shot at the CEF Pitch competition is the latest in a series of recent initiatives coming out of the county seat.

City one of 10 finalists for Consumers Energy Foundation competition

Since 2019 the Consumers Energy Foundation has been giving a boost to our small towns and communities through their Put Your Town On The Map Competition.
Last week the Foundation announced the top 10 finalists which will provide $50,000 in grant funding for three projects to help small communities in Michigan grow and thrive.
And White Cloud scored an invitation to the final pitch.

The finalists are:
·       Au Gres (Arenac County) for Kinder Platz Park “old fashion” transformation
·       Bellaire (Antrim County) for a community year-round garden project
·       Coopersville (Ottawa County) for a community outdoor fitness park
·       Dimondale (Eaton County) for a village history art mural
·       Imlay City (Lapeer County) for a public interactive art and audio display
·       Napoleon (Jackson County) for a heritage trail project
·       Rogers City (Presque Isle County) for a public art sculpture
·       Saranac (Ionia County) for a covered community concert pavilion
·       St. Johns (Clinton County) for community artistic benches
·       White Cloud (Newaygo County) for downtown planter boxes/benches

Andrew Stafford, who has served as a  Community Economic Development Association of Michigan  Fellow for the city, was credited by White Cloud City Manager April Storms for heading up this project. N3  caught up with him for a few questions.

Can you tell us a little bit about the competition?
The ‘Put Your Town on the Map’ pitch competition is funded by the Consumers Energy Foundation and is meant to support big ideas in rural communities across Michigan. To enter the competition, communities submit a brief overview of their ideas. From these brief overviews, ten communities are selected to give a full presentation about their project. These presentations will be given at the Small Town & Rural Development Conference on April 29th at 1:00 p.m. in front of a panel of judges. The top three finalists will receive funding for their ideas; with 1st place receiving $25,000, 2nd place receiving $15,000, and 3rd place receiving $10,000. 

The project is for benches and planters downtown. How was this decision made and what’s the vision for the initiative?
The decision to pitch planters with built-in benches was made because of White Cloud recently finishing Michigan State University’s Sustainable Built Environment Initiative. This program allowed MSU graduate students and professors to come into White Cloud and create design recommendations for redoing White Cloud’s downtown streetscape. While a comprehensive final report was given to the city, the planters with built-in benches were identified as an actionable step that could be pursued. The vision for the initiative is to use the project as a kick-off for implementing other design recommendations that were outlined in MSU’s final report.

The city seems to be going through a bit of a renaissance with new housing, the facade improvements, the EGLE drinking water grant and the EGLE dam grant. Any more developments on the horizon? Is there a wish list?
The city is very excited about several potential developments that are on the horizon. Currently, we are eagerly waiting to hear about a grant opportunity that would support renovations in Smith Park. These renovations would give more functionality and amenities to Smith Park. Additionally, we are discussing with MDOT adding on-street parking to specific sections of M-37. On-Street parking would significantly help the local businesses that are found on M-37.  Finally, we are working on getting new wayfinding signs by the end of the coming summer. These projects will continue to add to the current momentum the city has gained over the last 2 years.

You came to the city on a 15-month Fellowship and have been assisting the city for about a year, I believe. When is your term up and what would you like to see happen before you depart?
My term will finish in August. Before I leave the City of White Cloud, I would like to see several projects come to fruition. Specifically, I want to see new wayfinding signs in White Cloud and the construction phase of the façade improvement program come to a close. I have put a lot of work into both projects, so I am particularly passionate about seeing these projects come to completion. 

Well done Andrew and well done White Cloud. The city is the  first Newaygo County town to be chosen to deliver a pitch to the generosity of the Consumers Energy Foundation.
And with many of us at an advanced age being wildly in favor of benches, one hopes to see our beloved county seat bringing the heater to the competition.