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Designing the Columbia County Economic Development Corporation website

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

A new website for the Columbia County Economic Development Corporation was created through this independent student project in computer science. UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu [...]

Evaluating Rio Fire Department infrastructure and future designs

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

The fire station in Rio needs improvement and renovation to effectively serve the village and surrounding townships. This report provides three design alternatives informed by site visits and external research to understand current conditions.

Improvements and renovations to the Village of Rio fire station are needed to effectively serve the village and surrounding townships. The fire department currently serves 105 square milesof territory including seven adjacent townships with expected growth. Three design alternatives were proposed to address the priority concerns outlined by the client. The first alternative included repairs and renovations made to the existing building systems. Alternatives two and three addressed the same needs but also included building additions to make the space more desirable for volunteers, EMS staff, and community events. Through analysis in four engineering disciplines, a solution that promotes the health and safety of staff and considers social and economic factors of the community was recommended.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Developing a design for the Northside Dog Park in Portage

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

Portage is an expanding city. It has an existing dog park, but it is small and in need of replacement. The city wants the newly designed park to be a desirable destination and stop for people driving along the busy highways and freeways nearby as well as for local community members. The scope of work for this project includes the design and construction of the recreation and dog park including anentrance road from Gunderson Drive, a 30-carparking lot, a masonry park shelter, walking paths, fenced-in spaces for dogs both large and small, a connection to the newly constructed adjacent subdivision, stormwater management and site drainage, sanitary sewer and water service, landscaping, and site furnishings.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Conducting a trade market analysis of Portage Business Park

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

The City of Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States, is a magnet for attracting employees and businesses. The thriving business sector is establishing the Northside Business Park near I-90 towards the northern part of the city. Which leads to the question, “What businesses are realistic to populate the park?”

Market Analysis for the Northside facilitates the recruitment of suitable tenants. Assessing the current trends, forecast for the upcoming years and ompetitions pave the way for reaching a decision. The primary components of this project include a demographic study, transportation analysis, and business mix to understand the dynamics of various commercial sectors and sub-sectors in the City of Portage. Data suggests that Portage has an excellent labor pool and a substantial population commute to work in Portage. Manufacturing and trade are the current most employed sectors and have the most significant number of establishments. Retail leakage services are potential options for development. Gaps in restaurants, personal care services, bed and breakfast, and hotel accommodations, among many others, would be suitable.

The report guides development by documenting the current situation, future demand, recommendations, and possibilities. The development possibilities are open and unlikely to be restricted by the report. Stakeholders can use the Market Analysis data in this report to identify new businesses. Some possible developmental options are food and beverages stores, retail services like convenience stores, clothing retail, and grocers. Restaurants and hotels can be the
top considerations for development.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Attracting and retaining future emergency medical technicians in Rio

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

EMS (Emergency Medical Service) services are essential to all communities to provide medical assistance in times of emergencies. However, in the last few years, there has been a dramatic decline in the recruitment and retention of EMS professionals within departments throughout the country. This decline has been seen drastically in rural communities where there are volunteer EMS services offered and overall, less funding to these departments and their members. In this paper, we will provide evidence to support our three main proposals to increase the recruitment and retention of the Rio EMS Department. Increasing the recruitment and retention of the Rio EMS Department is hypothesized to increase the overall morale of the department, the number of calls the department can respond to, and the overall health of the community members.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Focusing on workforce development, attraction and retention initiatives for the City of Portage

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

In response to the needs of the City of Portage, several recommendations have been made for population and financial growth. First, a community center should be added, to support and educate new residents, and bring the community together as Portage grows. In response to expected population growth, downtown Portage needs to be enriched, both through nurturing downtown businesses and by creating a more walkable and welcoming downtown area for
residents. The pedestrian safety aspect should be accomplished by renovating streets and sidewalks and adding alternative methods of transportation. To increase tourism, it is recommended that current Portage attractions are identified and preserved, and nearby city attractions should be incentivized to current and future employees. Next, Portage can further utilize and enhance the city’s online/social media presence to generate buzz that attracts
residents. Furthermore, it is suggested that several financial incentives such as promoting payment assistance programs or encouraging property owners to take advantage of CDBG loans can attract residents.

UniverCity Year Contact Info: UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu

Welcoming and integrating Latino community members into the Portage workforce

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:47 +0000

As the city struggles to find enough workers to fill its jobs, Portage is trying to understand ways it can become more welcoming to residents from countries that speak a languege other than English. This report offers recommendations for how to make the community welcoming for new residents who speak Spanish. UniverCity Year Contact Info: [...]