[Press Release] : Communities share their visions at 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

Communities share their visions at community-wide forum: 'Imagine
Columbia's Future'

COLUMBIA, MO (May 4, 2006) -- A community-wide visioning forum will
feature representatives from three communities that have either
completed or are in the process of completing visions for their
communities.

Representatives from Champaign County/Champaign and Urbana, Ill.;
Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Springfield, Mo., will explain what motivated
them to take on the visioning process, how they organized themselves and
how they are implementing or have implemented their vision plans.

The community-wide forum, "Imagine Columbia's Future," is
scheduled for 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. Everyone is invited and 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 is "big-picture"
thinking and planning -what should the Columbia community be like 10, 15
or 20 years from now; it is comprehensive; it provides a framework to
help the public make informed decisions; and it involves all segments of
the community.

Chattanooga is celebrated for developing and implementing one of the
first and most successful visions in the country. For example, all the
improvements to their waterfront, formerly a depressed area, were a
result of implementing their vision plan. Chattanooga Mayor Ron
Littlefield will make his presentation by way of a video conference from
Chattanooga.

Springfield has successfully conducted and implemented a vision as the
foundation of community planning. Tom Finnie, who recently retired as
Springfield's city manager, will explain why they decided to undertake
a visioning project and what it has meant for Springfield. Finnie was
deeply involved with the process, and according to him, "Most of
Springfield's major city-wide initiatives, since completing the
visioning process, have been an active part of implementing the
visioning plan and it is working now."

The community of Champaign County/Champaign and Urbana is currently in
the middle of creating a vision. Representing this community are Barbara
Wysocki, chair, Champaign County Board and chair of BigSmallAll Sponsors
Council; Bruce Knight, planning director, city of Champaign and co-chair
of BigSmallAll Steering Committee; and John Dimit, CEO, Champaign County
Regional Planning Commission.

After presentations by these three communities, there will be a
moderated panel discussion followed by a question and answer period.

Those attending the forum will then participate in discussions at their
tables to consider whether or not developing a shared vision is a
process Columbia should consider.

The forum will be re-broadcast on the Columbia Channel, Mediacom
channel 13 and Charter Communications channel 2 from May 10 until May 15
at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. each day.

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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