[Press Release] : Public invited to community-wide forum: 'Imagine Columbia's Future'

[pr-l at news.gocolumbiamo.com]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Paula Hertwig Hopkins, Assistant City Manager - (573)
874-7214
or Robert Ross, Public Communications - (573) 874-7220

Public invited to community-wide forum: 'Imagine Columbia's Future'

COLUMBIA, MO (April 27, 2006) -- The city of Columbia is hosting a
community-wide forum on Monday, May 8, from 7 - 9 p.m. at Lela Raney
Wood Hall at Stephens College, 6 N. College Ave. The forum will be in
the Kimball Ballroom. Members of the public are encouraged to
participate to hear what's been done in other cities, say what they
think about visioning and decide what Columbia should do.

The purpose of the forum is to determine the Columbia community's
receptiveness to a visioning process. A vision contains several
components. It is a citizen driven public involvement effort; it brings
together civic, public and private interests; it involves an ever
enlarging and inclusive circle of participants; it represents a
remarkable shift in decision-making; it leads to "big-picture"
thinking and planning; it is comprehensive; it provides a framework to
help the public make informed decisions; and it is a set of well-tested
public involvement techniques. 

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the Columbia community to
participate in a forum to hear what three cities are doing to shape
their futures through a community visioning process," said Mayor
Darwin Hindman. "This is a process that could help Columbia decide
what it could look like in 10, 15 or 20 years. The Council, city staff
and I believe this is a very important first step in determining if
Columbia should undertake a long-term approach to developing a vision
for our future."

The forum format will include presentations from three cities:
Chattanooga, Tenn.; Champaign County, Ill.; and Springfield, Mo., who
will discuss how their citizens developed and implemented visions for
their communities. Chattanooga is celebrated for developing one of the
first and most successful visions in the country. Springfield has
successfully conducted and implemented a vision as the foundation of
community planning. Champaign County is currently in the middle of
creating a vision. The representatives from these communities will
explain what motivated them to take on visioning projects and how they
organized themselves. After presentations by these three communities,
there will be a moderated panel discussion followed by a question and
answer period.

Forum participants will then participate in discussions at their tables
to provide input on whether Columbia should be involved in a visioning
process. The city of Columbia is being assisted by consultants ACP -
Visioning & Planning, of New York, N.Y.

For more information, visit the city's Web site at
www.GoColumbiaMo.com or e-mail questions to
ImagineColumbia at GoColumbiaMo.com.

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