There have been new developments with Greene County’s Vision 2020 project.

Community Development Director Ken Paxton says a series of focus groups were recently held about the different kinds of projects community members wanted to see happen with the overall project. Those areas include a brewery, restaurants (specifically family-friendly and business class), indoor water park, athletic facility, day care facility, after school program, live music venue, co-working space, housing and expanded retail businesses.

Paxton says a large steering committee, made up of representatives from the county, met last week to decided to move forward on improving the schools, creating a sports complex and expanding day care services. He adds that subcommittees are working on each individual project. The Community 360 group is leading the Vision 2020 project with developers from McClure Engineering, RDG Engineering and Iowa Area Development Corporation.

“They are going to be with us as far as looking for funding for them (the projects), business organization, the business plan, site location, construction, hiring and everything that goes into these projects to literally when the doors open. They will not only come up with the projects, design the projects, prioritize and carry them out, but they’ll stay with us all the way to completion of those projects. ”

The goal is to support current employers to retain their employees and grow and attract millennials to live in Greene County.