[9/19/03]The Vicksburg Warren Community Alliance, a citizen group, has borrowed $20,000 to jump start the group that started meeting two years ago to coordinate efforts of community organizations.

The loan was made public during the Alliance meeting Thursday when members approved the minutes of their last meeting, including an executive committee decision to borrow the money.

It will be used to pay Charlotte Koestler Duffey, who was hired as a director for the group.

Alliance member Landy Teller, an attorney, said the RiverHills bank loan will be repaid when the Alliance kicks off its fund-raising campaign after the first of the year, but Warren County District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon questioned borrowing money with no assurance of a funding source.

“We borrowed money on a promise and a hope, and I don’t think that’s good business,” said Selmon, also a member of the Alliance.

Alliance member Bobby Bailess, also an attorney, said several members of the group personally signed off on the loan. He said the funding has to pay its director, hired in July with only the promise of a salary in the future.

“We had to have somebody who could do this on a full-time basis,” Bailess said.

Membership in the Alliance is open and includes representatives from the city, county, school district, Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Foundation and other community organizations. Meetings and lengthy discussions about priorities and strategies for the community are held by the umbrella organization.

The group has adopted a five-year strategic plan that is estimated to cost up to $6.2 million with funding coming from a long-term fund-raiser. The group is also developing a structural organization that breaks out its members into five areas of specific interest including tourism, economic development and government.

“It’s time for us to be recognized as a legitimate organization that’s going to move this community forward,” said Margaret Gilmer, Alliance member and former Chamber of Commerce president.

The first big undertaking for the Alliance will be the proposed $60,000 Buxston retail trade analysis. So far, the group has gotten pledges from the City of Vicksburg, EDF and Entergy to fund part of the costs, but is still $22,500 short of the goal.

The study would provide demographic information about local retail customers and be used to attract new businesses.

The Alliance is hosting a public presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Vicksburg Convention Center with representatives from Buxston.

“It’s important that the community get as much information as possible. We need them to buy into it and get excited about it,” Duffey said.

She said they plan to solicit funding for the study from local industries, retailers and private donations.

A potential source of $200,000 for the Alliance could be the Vicksburg Business Incubator. City officials say they are looking at dissolving that organization and rolling its remaining funding over to the Alliance.

“The Incubator didn’t work,” said Mayor Laurence Leyens. “It was a failure.”

The program was started about 12 years ago in a former discount store building at 2920 Washington. Start-up firms could rent interior space and pool utilities and other overhead until they were able to go out on their own in that program. Officials began looking at dissolving the program when the cost of a needed roof replacement was estimated at $188,000.

Leyens said the city is seeking appraisals to sell the property as it sits today. He said that if the building is torn down or the property is sold, the remaining funds in the incubator’s accounts could be used for the Alliance.