Above: Steering Committee Member Derrick Maxwell looks on at the Public Kickoff Meeting.
The Steering Committee hosted their third meeting on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The first item on the agenda focused on a debriefing of the December 11th public kickoff meeting. The Steering Committee meeting involved each member sharing their thoughts about effectiveness of the planning activity that focused on identifying strengths, weaknesses and challenges. Further, each member self-reflected on their individual outreach efforts in getting members of the public to attend the kickoff meeting. This exercise helped build peer-to-peer understanding, reinforced committee responsibilities and highlighted innovative approaches to improve outreach.
The next portion of the agenda involved developing the official name of the community plan. This involved members of the Steering Committee focusing on how they identify with the geography and how it is referred to by others in the community. The Steering Committee requested Rise to do some research on Thomas Winstanley along with how and why the area was named after him.
The last item on the agenda included a visioning session to help develop a statement designed to bring the community together to focus on neighborhood revitalization for the next 20 years. There were key words and phrases generated. The result were words and terms that tapped in the community’s rich history. Further, the words were framed to support improving safety with a focus on families, all to support a thriving vibrant community. Rise staff will take the information to develop some vision statement options based on the Steering Committee members individual and shared thoughts. It was agreed once the options were developed that an online survey should be used to determine the best vision statement to be adopted by the Steering Committee and that could be supported by community members to help guide the plan for the next two decades.