Darrin Reeves, mayor of the City of Peru, said, “From infrastructure to housing to economic development, the City and College have shared needs.”
“Creating a shared vision is the first step to meeting those needs.”
A purpose statement for the collaboration reads, “The purpose of this group is to create a plan to enhance the City of Peru and Peru State College by leading efforts to gather input from members of the community. Based on community input, the plan will set priorities and identify ways to share resources.”
Dr. Dan Hanson, president of Peru State College, writes, “The success of the City and the College is interdependent. We look forward to stronger partnerships with the City, city residents, its businesses and our alumni.”
Initial meetings focused on how the City and College working together has proven to be more effective than working alone. The recent Park Avenue project was cited as example of how this was true.
The group has asked city residents and stakeholders to be watching for surveys seeking community input. The surveys are expect this fall.
Logo for the new group, originally proposed by Ashley Hansen, a resident of Peru.
Group members include:
- Darrin Reeves – Mayor, city resident, College employee
- Jason Jones – City Council member, city Resident
- Bill Hunter – City Council member, city resident
- Justin Douglas, President of Main Street Bank
- Vanessa Sherman - President of the Peru Community Impact Group, city Resident
- Becca Jewell – Peru State College Foundation employee
- Bob Engles – Area Realtor, Trustee of the Nebraska State College System
- Cindy and Tim Hoffman – Peru State College alumni, Peru State College Foundation Board Members, landlords in the city
- Dr. Dan Hanson, President of Peru State College, city resident
- Christopher Nwafor, Student at Peru State College and member of Student Senate, city resident
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