Hayden Named Gem Community

The city of Hayden on Tuesday was recognized as a Gem Community by the state’s Commerce Department.

A community group has been meeting for more than a year, working on ways to help boost economic development in Hayden. Gaining Gem Community status should help the city obtain grants for that purpose.

The two most important goals that have surfaced from the Gem Community meetings are the need for a community center in Hayden, possibly to include a senior center and a swimming pool, and the need for downtown revitalization, said Nancy Taylor, a city employee and member of the Gem community group.

Now the group will begin researching possible ways to pay for these proposed improvements to the city.

“The whole group is dedicated to getting this done,” Taylor said.