Living here is bitc--- ... er, fantastic
Awesome! Cool! Terrific! (Dare I say "Bitchin"!)
By any objective standards we live in a great place. People come from all over the world just to spend a few days in the place we call home. National magazines routinely put us on their "Best Of" lists. We are not a community that is shrinking in population. No, our popularity (our awesomeness!) ensures that people will continue to move here as they seek to have a better life and live in a better place.
Is there room for improvement? Can we do government better? Can we do education and healthcare better? Can we do job creation and economic development better? Can we do arts and culture better? Can we protect and sustain our environment better? Can we do better to make sure our children have a healthy, safe and secure childhood? I believe the answer is "Yes" to all!
We can always do better. Two of the qualities that have made this country the greatest country in the world are that we believe we can always do better and that we work hard to be the best. I believe that America's drive to be the best, to be exceptional, is alive and thriving in Coeur d'Alene. We've had a successful and exciting past, but have we as a community done the best we can do to plan for the future in a rapidly changing world?
Most successful businesses, communities and individuals plan for the future and anticipate the changes that are likely to occur. Rather than scrambling to face issues as they come up they establish a shared vision, values and goals and then work to create a path for achieving those goals. In 2000 a group of citizens was formed to do just that for the greater Coeur d'Alene area. This effort resulted in an overview of the community's vision, values and goals called CDA 2020. Much has changed since 2000 and many people feel that the time has come to update the CDA 2020 community vision.
On Tuesday, Feb. 5 and Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Coeur d'Alene community will get an opportunity to hear how we might update our CDA 2020 program. Award-winning author and long-range planner Steven Ames will be in Coeur d'Alene to make presentations to City Council, community leaders and citizens about a visioning and planning process that successful communities and organizations use to share their vision for the future.
According to Mr. Ames, "community visioning" offers communities new ways to think about and plan for the future. It is a planning process through which a community creates a shared vision for its future and begins to make it a reality.
The benefits of this community visioning process are many:
* brings community members together in a different context to consider their common future while encouraging them to explore new ideas and possibilities;
* creates a shared sense of direction and a framework for future community decisions;
* produces a process that results in concrete goals and strategies for action;
* enriches public involvement by expanding the scope of civic engagement;
* fosters new leadership in citizens who have not been previously active in public life;
* promotes active partnerships among government, business, civic, and nonprofit organizations; and
* strengthens community cohesion and "social capital."
Evidence shows that communities that have engaged in this visioning process are stronger and better prepared for a successful future - and actually achieve the kind of change they desire. Successful communities recognize that the future is something they create, rather than something they let happen to them.
Please take some time next week to join Mr. Ames and your fellow citizens to learn more about community visioning and how we can make Coeur d'Alene an even more awesome place for everyone!
Mike Gridley is the Coeur d'Alene city attorney.