[Press Release] : Standing room only at community-wide visioning 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

Standing room only at community-wide visioning forum, 'Imagine
Columbia's Future'; cable broadcasts planned

COLUMBIA, MO (May 10, 2006) -- A standing room only crowd, estimated at
400, gathered at Lela Raney Wood Hall on the Stephens College campus on
May 8 for a community-wide forum, "Imagine Columbia's Future." The
forum's purpose was to determine the Columbia community's
receptiveness to a visioning process. 

"We are all extremely pleased with the turn-out for the forum and it
shows that people are personally interested in their community," said
Bill Watkins, city manager. "Participants represented a cross-section
of the community, and I got the sense that everyone was excited about
their potential roles in deciding what our community will be like in the
future. The forum was a success."

The forum will be rebroadcast 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. A copy of the broadcast is
also available at the Columbia Public Library.

A public presentation is being planned to share a report that is being
prepared by a consultant, ACP Visioning & Planning. A date has not been
set. When available, the report will be posted on the city's Web site,
www.GoColumbiaMo.com, with printed copies available at the Columbia
Public Library.

City staff is proposing that a discussion of community-wide visioning
be included on the agenda at the City Council annual retreat that is
scheduled for June 23-24.

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.

The forum featured 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., explained what motivated them
to take on the visioning process, how they organized themselves and how
they are implementing or have implemented their vision plans.

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 made 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, explained 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 was 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 was a moderated
panel discussion followed by a question and answer period.

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

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Archived press releases can be viewed online at: 
http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Public_Comm/Public_Information/Press_Releases/

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