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Gifford Nei hborhood Plan 2014 As transit system planners and service providers, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Senior Resource Association may continue to explore routes and times of service to provide increased home/work transportation for Gifford residents. ➢ Opportunities Currently, several private non-profit organizations, as well as government and education agencies, are working to bring businesses to Gifford and/or offer services intended to increase the employability of individuals. Those groups include the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, Indian River State College, the Indian River School District, the Workforce Development Solution, GROW (Giving Rewarding Opportunities to Work), and others. Those groups work to match employers and potential employees. They also work with employers to identify the types of skills that employers are looking for in employees. Finally, several of those groups provide a wide range of technical and business training for Gifford residents and others. Programs run by these organizations address many of the larger social issues that cause employment and income problems. Those programs, while effective, are limited in scope. ➢ Summary Despite the fact that Gifford's central County location places it near several employment centers, Gifford residents have lower incomes and higher unemployment than the County as a whole. This is likely more attributable to social forces, than to locally controlled issues such as the provision of public facilities and services, or Gifford's land use pattern. Regardless, there is a need to get Gifford residents into job and vocational training programs and to shape those programs in ways that will enable Gifford residents to obtain better paying jobs or start-up businesses. In addition, Gifford residents should benefit from County-wide development initiatives, and a public transit service that provide expanded hours of services between homes, jobs, and education/vocational training facilities. Infrastructure Infrastructure in Gifford is generally adequate. This is largely due to improvements that have taken place during the last 30 years. Several of those improvements have taken place as a result of implementing comprehensive plan policies for expanding centralized water and sewer system or by utilizing various grant programs (e.g., expansion of water and sewer service). Nevertheless, several areas in Gifford are still in need of infrastructure improvements. M Community Development Indian River County 53