City of Dayton officials attended the 2023 Community Health Academy, a Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health program that educates city leaders how they can impact health in their community.

“We really enjoyed that,” said Dayton City Council member Brett Hyde, who attended the academy with Dayton Mayor Troy Moser and City Clerk Jennifer Sage. “We’re a small town and it just opened our eyes to a lot of different possibilities.”

One of those possibilities was The Community Project. As a Community Health Academy graduate, Dayton had the opportunity to apply for grant. The Community Project is a Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health grant program that unites community leaders and residents to define, design and create outdoor public spaces that bring people together. The Foundation created the grant program as a way for cities to engage residents to foster the sense of belonging to help communities collaborate.

For Dayton, a bedroom community of about 500 residents in rural Franklin County located about 10 miles from the Utah border, the grant brought in far more than the $85,000 the city received in 2024.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway for Dayton from The Community Project was the technical assistance the city received around communications and community engagement to better connect with residents.

“I think the communication tools that have been gained from this and the process is something we can do again in the future with other issues that we face,” Sage said. “I think that training and process is so valuable.”

As part of the grant, the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health and its partner agency provided the city with tools, templates and best practices. An audit of communications channels and assets were the first step, followed by a city visit where in-person community engagement took place at a variety of places.

“The visit just really energized the town,” Hyde said. “People were excited to be able to offer their opinions and suggestions.”

Communities are healthier when all members’ voices are heard. Studies show that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be healthier mentally, which can positively impact physical health. That’s why the process of gathering feedback and including all sectors of a community are important.

“I think when you listen, they’re going to be a lot more willing to work with you and give you the benefit of the doubt when there is something there might be a little bit of frustration with,” Sage said. “One of the things I took away most from The Community Project was to figure out ways to gather community input and ways to listen to residents to learn what their wants, desires and needs are.”

One thing Dayton struggled with was getting the word out. The city posted official notices at the post office and city offices. Sage often took phone calls for basic information because it wasn’t available anywhere. The city didn’t have a website or any social media accounts prior to the grant.

“We thought that they weren’t important, and we’ve come to find out that they are,” Hyde said. “We didn’t see the value until this grant happened. It’s really opened our eyes to how we can be more transparent and how we can invite more community involvement. I think that’s going to continue for sure and make a big impact.”

Dayton had a city logo designed as part of the grant, as well as signage templates for meeting announcements. The city used some of its funding to create a functional website that will contain important city messages and information.

“The access to information will really benefit the community,” Sage said.

“I’m really excited about the website because that’s going to make a big difference in the community,” Hyde said.

There still is the physical space to create. The improvements to the city park are still being finalized, and the community engagement will continue to determine the best way to accessorize the city’s sole park. There also was a community desire for more activities geared for pre-teens and teenagers.

“A lot of the recommendations that were presented were pretty simple fixes,” Sage said. “There wasn’t one big project, but I loved ideas some of the ideas like having the botany class at the school, which grows plants in a greenhouse, to plant them at the memorial in the park.”