The town of Century is looking to gain access to $2.2 million dollars in grant money. We need to ensure that these funds directly benefit the residents of Century. And not a select few. All residents need to reap the benefit from this gift with direct dollars awarded to them in the form of grants for homeownership, home revitalization, access to superior high-speed internet, and reeducation initiatives.

We must build our town by making homeownership accessible to everyone who wants to call Century home. We must help our current residents fix their homes so they will be able to continue being great residents of our town who have a safe place to call home. We must provide reeducation assistance programs to help our residents prepare for high-paying jobs and high-ranking positions.

This is our opportunity to come up and we must ensure every dollar is used to its maximum capacity to help our people. We must have transparency and oversight of the funds to ensure no one is steering the money away from our residents or creating backroom deals to line their pockets with the money.

We must prepare our town and our residents for the new Century that will be ruled by technology. Our people now have the opportunity to make New York, Texas, and Atlanta money right from their homes in Century. We must provide access to high-speed cutting-edge internet to help our residents stay connected to the internet and have superior internet speeds.

We must also provide access to education and training programs to help our people have the knowledge on how to use technology in the workplace.

While there are a lot of needs for the town of Century, we must focus on key areas that will directly benefit the people of Century while simultaneously creating a local economy that grows the revenues of our people, our businesses, and our town.

Below are details on the 4 key ways we must utilize the majority of the funds to ensure our people fully benefit from the upcoming grants.

The town of Century must utilize the funds in the form of grants to be provided exclusively for current residents of the town of Century.

Century Homebuyers Program

Any resident in the town of Century who is looking to have a home of their own that is safe, well built, and provides room for growth will have access to a $5,000 homebuyers grant to assist with costs associated with the down payment required to get a loan.

We cannot only provide funding but we must ensure that the path to homeownership is lined with experts to help our people reach their goals. In order to do so:

• We will work with lenders who provide home builder loans and provide easy access for our citizens to get approval.
• We will work with property developers and contractors to build the homes
• We will work with financial and credit counselors to help our people get their credit scores and finance up to approval requirements

Benefits of this program

1. More people in the town are homeowners. Homeownership increases persons’ feeling of belonging and ownership of their town. We need people who believe in Century and want to see it grow and prosper. People who plant their roots here have that feeling.
2. More construction jobs for the area. The more homes that are built the more construction jobs will be needed. This will increase the number of people in and out of Century on any given day which will provide new customers for gas stations, the panhandle, and the deli.
3. More residents = more revenue for the town
4. More residents = more businesses who will open up shop and be able to grow and prosper
5. More kids so we can build a nation of our youth who will help us with the next leg of this journey.

We must provide our citizens with access to live in communities with ample land for growth and expansion. We must ensure the entry price is affordable and accessible.

Century Home Revitalization Program

Any homeowner in the town of Century who would like to spruce up and give their home an exterior facelift will be provided with a $5,000 dollar for dollar matching grant to complete home renovation projects. We want every home in Century to look nice. This will help raise the property value of the homes in the Century which will unlock equity for our people to gain access to and use for the betterment and advancement of their personal lives.

Century Back To Work Reeducation Program

Any resident of Century who would like to go back to school or to school for the first time will be awarded a Century Reeducation Grant to help our people gain access to training and curriculum that will help them with skill development, exposure to 21st century hot job sectors, soft skills training, and management training.

This grant does not have to be strictly for college and can be for apprenticeship programs, trade schools, online courses, and certification programs. We should allocate $500 – $2,000 per resident. By educating our town we will have high valued residents who are able to provide a high level of value to the world and gain large incomes. Which will then be spent in our town on goods and services which will help jump start and continue our town’s climb.

Superior Internet access and capabilities

We are now full steam ahead in the age of technology where we work and seek entertainment through the internet. In order for business and working residents to be competitive, we must have high-speed internet services available to our residents.

Fiber optic internet is one option as well as Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service. We need to be prepared for the opportunity to bring cutting-edge high-speed internet to all residents of our town. This will greatly improve their ability to work in high-paying remote jobs in the near future. We also need to inquire about gaining access to the Starlink early beta or alpha program.

Those are the 4 key areas I believe deeply will have the maximum long-term positive impact on our town and our residents. This will be the catalyst to building a thriving town. In summary, the money needs to be given directly to the people of Century:

• Homebuyers Program: $5,000 to each resident
• Home revitalization Program:  Dollar for dollar matching grant (up to $5,000)
• Century Back To Work Reeducation Program: $500 – $2,000 per resident

If you have any questions or would like to help please email me at info@calvincottrell.com