Today a group of area citizens and community leaders gathered at City Hall in support of Vision Joplin 2022 as it was introduced to the public during a press conference. Committee member Clifford Wert and Joplin Mayor Mike Seibert spoke about Vision Joplin 2022, offering details and encouraging the public to participate in the process.
“If you live, work and/or play in Joplin, we are asking you to help proactively plan for Joplin’s future,” said Wert. “We are asking ‘What is your vision for Joplin by May of 2022?’ We want to hear from you as this community plan is developed.”
The mission statement of this effort is “To improve and grow Joplin from May 2017 to May 2022”. During preliminary planning of Vision Joplin 2022, six key topic areas for study have been identified. They will be the focus of study and recommendation to the Joplin City Council. This will be accomplished by supporting the citizens’ desire for:
Interested citizens can participate in the effort by utilizing a new web site, established to enable interaction with the community: www.joplinmo.org/visionjoplin.
Vision Joplin 2022...
“If you live, work and/or play in Joplin, we are asking you to help proactively plan for Joplin’s future,” said Wert. “We are asking ‘What is your vision for Joplin by May of 2022?’ We want to hear from you as this community plan is developed.”
The mission statement of this effort is “To improve and grow Joplin from May 2017 to May 2022”. During preliminary planning of Vision Joplin 2022, six key topic areas for study have been identified. They will be the focus of study and recommendation to the Joplin City Council. This will be accomplished by supporting the citizens’ desire for:
- Education – a committed focus on literacy readiness
- Governance – a long-term efficient and effective City.
- Healthy Living/Wellness – a healthy place to live.
- Job Growth – a vibrant economy with a thriving workforce
- Positive Marketing –community pride and showing Joplin in a positive light
- Quality of Life – access to cultural and leisure-time activities.
Interested citizens can participate in the effort by utilizing a new web site, established to enable interaction with the community: www.joplinmo.org/visionjoplin.
Each team’s initial meeting will be posted on this website, noting the date, time, and location. Citizens can register their participation in one or more of the six teams by using the website. The individual teams will then set their respective schedule for future gatherings.
“Participation by interested citizens is welcomed,” said Mayor Seibert. “Please don’t be shy because we want to hear from you and have you involved in this process.”
Twenty-three community volunteers have stepped forward to lead this effort - Susan Adams, Brent Baker, Councilman Taylor Brown, Chalise Cooper, Bennie Crossland, Peggy Fuller, Dr. Brad Hodson, David Humphreys, Andrew Jordan, Shelly Kraft, Dr. Alan Marble, Ryan Melton, Kelli Norris, Rob O'Brian, Kelli Perigo, Dr. Norman Ridder, Dan Stanley, Councilman Ryan Stanley, Clive Veri, Scott Vorhees, Clifford Wert, Sam Anselm (ex-officio), and Mayor Mike Seibert (ex-officio).
Team leaders for the key topics are:
- Education - Dr. Norm Ridder, Dr. Brad Hodson, and Kelli Perigo
- Governance - Bennie Crossland and Clifford Wert
- Healthy Living/Wellness - Scott Vorhees and Peggy Fuller
- Job Growth - Ryan Melton, Brent Baker, and Taylor Brown
- Positive Marketing - Andrew Jordan and Kelli Norris
- Quality of Life - Shelly Kraft, Chalise Cooper, and Susan Adams
Simultaneous to this effort, two students from Missouri Southern State University have stepped forward to conduct a numerical study of the City of Joplin in comparison to other markets. The students are being assisted and mentored by Lindsey Kubicek, CPA, with BKD LLP.
19 comments:
And how were the leaders selected? We are told many many times, Joplin it is a regional economy, and how Joplin goes the region goes. Just wonder WHO selected the leaders? Do know for a fact MARK ROHR selected his committee. Think it is so interesting USA political leaders plane for 5 years, and other countries plan 15 20 or 30. WHY?
Okay, so I'm not a fan of the people that pushed their agenda with the CART but who else do we have? It is hard o get community involvement and somebody has to lead. The article says it is open to anybody who wants to come. Who is the right group to plan Joplin's future?
Anyone who cares about what happens in Joplin. If it's you, I hope you decide to get involved.
Hasn't Joplin been here before? CART published a booklet containing what it said was all of the rebuilding ideas submitted by the public. All the sticky notes containing suggestions, like sidewalks, dog parks, underground utilities, which somehow morphed into loft-over-retail, a library/movie theater and a Post Office the Post Office didn't want.
But the basic work of Vision 2022 has already been done. Get the original suggestions given to CART. No need to reinvent the wheel and take years to do it.
There are a number of fine civic minded folks listed. Unfortunately seeing Clifford Wert (none resident) and Norm Ridder (temporary resident-bleeding heart liberal) involved makes me shutter.Both work a very personal almost conceited agenda of knowing what we residents need.
Hey, Mr. Anselm, while I like your work as City Manager, how about holding some of these meetings in venues that aren't victim disarmament zones? I note for example that the first and so far only scheduled one is in the city hall.
For that matter, after we've experienced a couple of years of Constitutional Carry that starts in January, if it's as uneventful as it's been in Kansas for the last year and a half, how about rolling back all the city's laws and policies to this effect, aside from the obvious special cases like the courthouse?
@ 5:05
Victim disarmament zones? HaHaha. Put your big boy pants on, do as has been done for the last 100 years and go unarmed. If that's too much trouble, do everyone a favor a stay home.
1:56:
How is Ridder a bleeding-heart liberal? Give me three examples.
5:06:
Have you *been* to a Council meeting at City Hall? There are usually three or four policemen standing guard at the back of the room. I presume they know how to use a gun.
6:11, discussions started with a small group of the core team, and we reached out to others we knew to gauge their interest in joining the launch effort. But the list is growing - we've had 27 citizens in the past two days sign up to join one or more of the teams. Regarding the frequency of planning, it's healthy for any community/organization to reassess things from time to time, given how quickly technology or priorities can change. (Our community knows first hand that one day can be dramatically different than the one before.) Planning in shorter bursts allows us to be more nimble and react more quickly to changes we face.
Steve, we've accomplished many of the projects listed in the CART plan, while others take longer to achieve. But I suspect teams will be reexamining that document to see what still applies, and what doesn't/shouldn't.
5:05, if you check out the calendar for January, you'll see meetings scheduled at other venues as well, but you may want to check their policy; I don't have a say over their operations. Rolling back city laws would require council approval, I have no authority to do that. And finally, thanks for your feedback on my performance so far. I do appreciate it.
Sam, thanks for contributing to Randy's forum. It sets a good example for city leaders to follow.
152..Love of studies with verbose conclusions but difficult to determine longterm results,egotistical abundance,just ask him, most liberals are very proud crusading liberals.This does not mean he has not been good for R8,just that his real passion seems to be studies....the new Superintendent should have direct input on any Vision study.
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Mr. Anslem: You're very welcome. Although I'm sorry for my lack of clarity WRT to the city's laws, that was more my thinking out loud, and that it might be a good agenda item for a looking 4 years forwards effort like this one, something to in due course present to council. At least, I would hope suggestions to change city laws would be in the remit of this effort, I'm sure there are a number of areas that need updating to keep with the current times and needs.
For example, how are Joplin's demographics changing? Nationwide, we have "10,000" Baby Boomers reaching retirement age every day. I'd expect Joplin to also continue to be a good place to raise children, so proportions in age brackets might not be changing all that much, but I'd expect greater needs by the elderly on an absolute scale.
Some more thinking out loud: maybe help arrange some sort of services exchange, or maybe just publicize e.g. Craigslist if it's viewed as serving that need. I've been thinking about this in the context of returning to Joplin by buying a house recently after being displaced just outside the city limits by the tornado, and how with a little extra effort I may be shoveling my more elderly neighbors' sidewalks when it snows.
Something aimed at the neighborhood or "micro-neighborhood" scale could be valuable, there's quite a few things I'd be happy to put an hour or three a week into within a few blocks walking distance, if I knew of the needs. But of course such a thing under city auspices raises a bunch of issues.
Anyway, thanks again, and as noted by others now and in the past, just by contributing to this forum you're doing a good thing, specifically and by letting us know you're "approachable", shall I say.
One member lives in Galena, KS. I understand people may work in Joplin, but shouldn't decision makers for the City of Joplin actually live in the city limits? I feel the rules of city government should prevail, as they do on the seats of the city council. Thoughts anyone?
Having one person from outside the city (and state, even!), I assume with interests in it, could be justifiable, they can lend a, by definition, outside perspective. But I wouldn't want more than one, and the group needs to both large enough that he can't easily sway it but small enough to actually get things done.
Why should the Galena resident (and there are more on the list) be in charge of influencing how we spend our taxes and grants?
4:29:
Good thought about the elderly needing more services. Especially transportation. That could mean an expansion of the trolley route or some arrangement to match the elderly with volunteer drivers to take them to medical appointments, etc. I bet it's being done now, but the program might have to grow.
You mentioned neighborhoods. A lot of the CART suggestions were on the neighborhood level. Dog parks, sidewalks, small clusters of shops with small "pocket" parks. All ways to give a neighborhood more of a neighborhood feel. That was all discussed about six months after the tornado. In the effort to do the really big Wallace Bajjali projects, Little to none of the little stuff got implemented. I imagine people still want it. That's why Vision Joplin 2022 should use that document as a starting point rather than try to reinvent the wheel with a lot more public meetings.
The CART plan was purposely broad (and vague in places) and seemed like a legitimate effort by most of the local people involved, but the CART name became poison because of the separate agendas going on, so it's good to move forward
Wert and Seibert are representatives of CART failure (and the separate agendas), but the other people shouldn't be saddled with all that
It would be nice to see a successful effort to redevelop South Main, along with an effort to assimilate MSSU into more City efforts - years ago, Southern was having homwcoming parades downtown, using Memorial Hall for student- oriented concerts and hosting the July 4th fireworks (which were superior to everything done since that stopped)
The CART plan was purposely broad (and vague in places) and seemed like a legitimate effort by most of the local people involved, but the CART name became poison because of the separate agendas going on, so it's good to move forward
Wert and Seibert are representatives of CART failure (and the separate agendas), but the other people shouldn't be saddled with all that
It would be nice to see a successful effort to redevelop South Main, along with an effort to assimilate MSSU into more City efforts - years ago, Southern was having homwcoming parades downtown, using Memorial Hall for student- oriented concerts and hosting the July 4th fireworks (which were superior to everything done since that stopped)
Just a couple of initial thoughts.....
First of all, why is there a need to create another committee to work in partnership with the City when there are already citizens serving in that capacity. There are approximately 24 boards/commissions that are chaired by or have representation of the citizens of Joplin that are responsible for providing public oversight, input, and recommendations directly to the City Council on most everything that this new committee will be working on. Why are these boards/commissions not being utilized in the manner in which they were intended? What does this say about the City Council's confidence in them and their effectiveness?
Secondly, unless the citizens have chosen these committee members, I fail to see the legitimacy of the City accepting their recommendations and input as the will (or voice) of the community. I believe that there are already early signs that this committee is nothing more than a rehash of previous special interest groups that continue to push their own agendas. A review of the past activities of these committee members would probably help to shed some light on the true nature of their agenda(s).
It is always a good thing to provide opportunities for public input and involvement in our government and community, however, it loses something in the process when the committee somehow materializes out of thin air with a brand message that has the markings of a commercial public affairs piece.
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