Civil Municipal View Feb2023

41 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 learning not just for students within Danville Independent Schools, but for adult learners as well. “We are focused on building pipelines from employers to our educational systems and partners,” says Danville Boyle County Development Corporation Workforce Development Specialist Harold Nally. “We want to connect talent to local jobs and do everything we can to keep our high school graduates and young professionals in their community.” The city is in the process of reconstructing its Economic Development Committee to be more nimble with nine members. This can help with strengthening existing and establishing new relationships with community organizations, employers, and leaders. These extended partnerships include institutions like Lexington-based Bluegrass Community and Technical College, allowing the city to expand its influence and further support local residents. Perhaps the biggest mid-term goal for Coffey and the city as a whole is an expansion of the downtown community. This is also a major part of the city’s current Master Plan. One of the key areas of emphasis for downtown expansion is not that there are any blighted areas but underdeveloped areas that would be of interest to developers, entrepreneurs, and investors. The goal is to bring more people downtown, so expanded services will include office, commercial, retail, and more. “We need to expand space where new businesses can be built,” Coffey says. Hutzley adds that a significant amount of work has been done in the area already. Moving forward community leaders have several goals to ensure the continued growth of Danville in support of residents, business owners, and partners. Coffey says that housing, marketing and branding, and the downtown expansion, which includes new streetscapes, parking lots, and more will be very important. Getting tracts of land ready for downtown growth may be as important as any initiative Coffey has. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is also executing its own Master Plan to add new walking paths, tennis courts, baseball fields, and DANV I LLE , KENTUCKY