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Meetings are open to the public;
301 South Main Street |
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Acting on the town meetings and surveys, the City of Palmyra and the Palmyra Bicentennial Library board installed bike racks, designated Handicapped Parking, and bought an adjacent building that considerably expanded the library space. PACB, working with the City, held a special meeting in June 2001 just to discuss the possibility of building a community center. Out of that meeting, a task force was formed to solicit citizen input on the nature and activities that would be offered in a community center, as well as to assess the willingness of local residents to support it. In 2003, after numerous meetings and surveys that indicated 93% of the residents wanted a center, the City appointed a Building Committee. More urgent concerns--downtown revitalization, economic development, and preservation issues--have refocused the attention of PACB and its constituent committees, and the issue of a community center is currently on hold. In 2004, PACB, working with the City of Palmyra, the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations, created and printed a new full-color Quality of Life Brochure, for use in promoting the community. From the beginning, PACB worked with youth through Key Club at Palmyra High School; Key Club members attended regular PACB meetings and went to the statewide Community Betterment conferences every October. Several individual youth members received recognition for their activities. In 2003, they organized the first local effort for “Make a Difference Day” and were recognized for the number of projects they carried out. In 2005, working with PACB and board member Judy Maas (librarian at Palmyra High School), Key Club members organized a Mayor’s Youth Council, establishing criteria and a process for membership on the Council. In 2006, five high school students were selected for the first Mayor’s Youth Council: Sean Frankenbach, Kale Gosney, Brian White, Cari Wolfmeyer, and. Alison Wright. They met several times and agreed to develop three educational campaigns during the 2006-07 school year. As these students moved on in school, they were replaced in 2007 by new members. In 2005, PACB, working with the City, the Chamber, and a marketing class at Hannibal-LaGrange College, conducted a Survey of Existing Businesses to find out more about the economic climate in Palmyra. A city-wide meeting was held to discuss the results and several projects developed from that meeting:
The Mayor’s Youth Council, formed in 2006, agreed to assume responsibility for these educational campaigns and, through a grant from the Tracy Family Foundation, completed them in 2007. The MoCap program in the state was renamed MoCAPP (Missouri Community Assessment Planning and Program?). PACB sought support from the City in the form of a salary for a person who would guide the process of updating information on Palmyra and write the report, completed in winter 2007-8. and approved by the state in February, 2008. Findings were reported in a city-wide meeting in January, 2008, along with results of a business survey conducted by Jean Morriseau-Kuni of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis. Over 100 citizens discussed these two surveys and made numerous suggestions for future goal-setting. These collaborative efforts will provide a blueprint for improvement in the areas of economic development, social services, infrastructure, housing, education, municipal services, cultural life and historical preservation. In June of 2006, the State of Missouri announced the D.R.E.A.M. (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) project. PACB had begun forming a Downtown Palmyra task force to address the problems that had, since 1996, become more critical. The Task Force met several times over the summer and submitted an application to the State of Missouri to become designated as a D.R.E.A.M. community, which entitles ten Missouri communities to technical assistance, planning, and financial guidance in revitalizing their downtown areas. Although Palmyra’s application for the D.R.E.A.M. Initiative was not approved in 2006, the city has been encouraged to reapply in 2008. A committee is currently working on that application.
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PACB is a NOT-FOR-PROFIT Corporation and is an IRS approved tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The registered office of the corporation is at 301 South Main Street, Palmyra, Mo, 63461. Three subcommittees operate under the Community Betterment aegis: Palmyra Food Pantry, Palmyra Community Chorus, and the Palmyra Area Arts League. Wider public input is included through surveys and an annual town meeting.
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PACB has, from its inception, seen itself as a catalyst for action, first in pointing out issues that need attention, then in bringing them to the attention of the appropriate body for resolution. As a group with representation from the city, the schools, religious leaders, civic organizations, and social services, it is in a position to identify critical needs that share community responsibility. Sometimes its role is to prod and remind specific organizations that problems have not been solved; sometimes it is to initiate a project through collaboration and seek creative and cooperative funding sources. |
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![]() Girl Scouts in Homecoming Parade |
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