Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program s Phase Three Initiated Successfully
Antoaneta Mateeva
FLGR
No. 11/2000
Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program s Phase Three was initiated five months ago. Its framework is much larger compared to preceding phases and involves actions in several areas. The previous two phases of the Program included the establishment of twinning relations between Bulgarian and American municipalities and institutional strengthening of FLGR. These elements are preserved in Phase III but two new components are added to them. The first one is related to the extension of the participation of four partnerships established under Phases I and II. The partnerships will be selected on a competitive principle. The second new element pertains to the replication of successful practices and models developed by the municipalities under Phases I and II. The practices will be replicated in other Bulgarian municipalities that haven t been included in the Program so far. The practical orientation of the Program is preserved and more efforts will be made to fully implement the joint projects developed by the partners. The same applies also to the municipalities in which Phase I and II successful practices will be replicated.
We will continue to keep the readers of FLGR s newsletter informed about the different aspects of the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program.
The multi-component structure of the Program in its third phase resulted in a multitude of events over the last several months.
Twinning relations between four new Bulgarian and American cities were established
The new Bulgarian municipalities selected to participate in Phase III include: Silistra; Vidin; Veliko Turnovo; and Pazardzhik.
Two of them, Silistra and Pazardzhik, successfully began their joint work with their American partner cities. In the previous issue of the newsletter, we informed you about the results from the first official visit of a delegation from the City of Kettering, Ohio, to Silistra in July.
At the end of September, a Silistra official delegation visited Kettering. The delegation was led by mayor Ivo Andonov. The results from the visit are very encouraging and underline the exceptional commitment of the two cities together to develop and implement projects important for the Municipality of Silistra. The partners developed an action plan for the next 18-month period. The action plan includes the establishment of a business incubator, identification of incentives to attract start-up and expanding companies, development of business links between companies from the two cities, and a viability study on the opportunities to develop industries that utilize recycled materials. The partners will also focus their efforts on the reconstruction and the development of the Danube Riverbank Park. The partnership plans to do a full inventory and evaluation of the park and to design a layout that would serve as the basis for the future development of the park. The public will be invited to participate in the discussions of the park s future. The City of Kettering will design a new playground and will donate equipment for it. In their parks, the two cities will have areas dedicated to Silistra and Kettering, respectively.
A delegation from the City of West Bend, Wisconsin, led by city administrator Dennis Melvin, visited the Municipality of Pazardzhik on October 23-28. The guests were informed about some aspects of the municipal operations, in particular about municipal management s priority areas. There were many meetings with municipal leaders, employees and local business representatives. The Pazardzhik hosts did their best to provide an outline of their operations, so that their West Bend counterparts could make a comparison between a Bulgarian and an American municipality. At the end of the work week, as a result of the discussions and in consistency with West Bend s resources, the partners identified the areas of technical cooperation. The two cities signed a Memorandum of Understanding and agreed to work together in the following areas:
local economic development;
environmental protection and energy efficiency.
The partners also identified the following secondary areas of cooperation: exchange of information on the functioning of the respective municipal administrations; waste management; solutions to social problems; and the municipal transport system.
In January, 2001, a Pazardzhik official delegation will visit West Bend to identify specific projects that will be developed and implemented by the experts of the twinned cities.
Competition and selection of four Phase I and II partnerships that would be included in Phase III. Replication of successful practices and models developed by Phase I and II participants
These two components are interrelated, as the development and implementation of the latter is an intrinsic part of the responsibilities of every partnership selected for Phase III participation. The seven partnerships under Phases I and II (Rousse - Duluth; Haskovo - Abington; Stara Zagora - Durham; Dobrich Spokane; Razgrad Brunswick; Gabrovo Portage and Blagoevgrad Auburn) had two months to submit specific proposals on how they will continue their joint efforts. Each partnership had to provide funding matching the funds allocated under the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program. Another requirement was the proposals for new projects to be related to the areas of cooperation identified during the previous twinning phase. The projects could include either completion of initiated projects or upgrades of results achieved so far. The submitted proposals had to include: a general concept for the development of the partnership for a two-year period; an action plan; a draft udget. The proposals were reviewed by a joint FLGR/ICMA committee. Upon USAID approval, the following partnerships were selected: Gabrovo Portage; Blagoevgrad Auburn; Haskovo Abington; and Razgrad Brunswick. They will participate in Phase III and will share their experience and replicate successful practices in the municipalities of Sliven, Sevlievo, Tryavna and Novi Pazar.
In October, the Blagoevgrad Auburn and Gabrovo Portage partnerships began the implementation of the activities incorporated in their action plans.
Blagoevgrad Auburn
A group of representatives of the two cities visited the Municipality of Sliven to prepare the replication of the municipal marketing profile developed by the partnership. The group included: Mr. Philip Dunlap, economic development director, City of Auburn; Mr. Ventseslav Kozhuharov, chief secretary, Municipality of Blagoevgrad; and Ms. Temenuzhka Stambolieva, program coordinator, Municipality of Blagoevgrad. The representatives of the three municipalities discussed the schedule of their future activities. The schedule specifies the steps in the development of Sliven s marketing profile. The three parties also agreed to expand their cooperation by discussing additional opportunities for joint projects.
Gabrovo Portage
On October 21-16, 2000, City of Portage experts visited the Municipality of Gabrovo. As a part of their action plan, the two cities organized a seminar as a preparatory stage in the replication of their public-private partnership project in the municipalities of Sevlievo and Tryavna. 25 people attended the seminar: territorial development experts; the chief architects of the partner municipalities; representatives of Stara Planina Regional Association of Municipalities; Gabrovo s Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Gabrovo s Association of Private Entrepreneurs and Craftsmen; the Association of Gabrovo s Industrialists; representatives of the National Property Department of the regional government and the media. Two workshops were held in Sevlievo in Tryavna to discuss the specifics of the two municipalities and possible lots to be offered for development. The partners identified tasks related to the preparation for the bids. The focus was on the new elements developed by the Gabrovo Portage partnership: identification of selection criteria for bid evaluation; pre-bid conferences, etc.
The second joint project of this partnership was on the development of Gabrovo s web-site. The partners discussed some of the design options and the interactive use of the site.
This period, so dense with events and activities, was a successful start for Phase III of the Bulgarian Technical Twinning Program. The wide circle of participants, the partners aspirations to expand the areas of cooperation, the demonstrated willingness to implement important projects and to replicate the best practices and experience provide the best guarantee for the success of the Program.