Looking ahead - Community Vision project seeks to plan where Fort Scott is
Fort Scott, Kan. -- Although 2016 seems distant, it's not too far off when planning for the future -- Fort Scott's future.
That's what 44 Fort Scott residents decided when they assembled last month at Mercy Health Center to create a 10-year vision statement for the town.
The vision: a progressive community that is building on a foundation of heritage, pride and prosperity.
"It is a snapshot in the future, which we need to embrace to strive toward," Jamie Armstrong, who attended the 8-hour retreat, said. "This is what we are striving to be. We want to be a progressive, proactive, forward-thinking community that continues to build every day on our heritage, a rich history that makes our community so unique.
"We want to radiate pride in every aspect of our community; our homes, our neighborhoods, our businesses and more. And we want to grow, to innovate, to constantly evolve through progress and prosperity."
The vision statement was created by having the retreat participants imagine themselves 10 years from now, listening in on a conversation someone from, say, Nevada, Mo., is having about Fort Scott. Those people are saying, "Fort Scott is . . . : And they had to fill in the blank, Terry Woodbury, president of Kansas Communities, said. So the words "progressive," "heritage," "prosperity" and "pride" repeatedly came up during the exercise, he said.
"The Vision is an 'image' of the future -- not a measurable goal," Woodbury said. "It reflects the self-image, energy, character, culture, "flavor" that will be true of Fort Scott in 2016.
The retreat was the culmination of a revitalization program started in August by Woodbury. It aims to reinvigorate Fort Scott to build a lasting image and reverse downward trends in image and negativity.
Local businessman Dean Mann said Fort Scott already has many positive institutions that the 10-year vision can build upon, such as a hospital and educational institutions.
"Fort Scott is a wonderful place to live," Mann, who is heavily involved in the revitalization process, said. "And this project will only enhance what great things Fort Scott has already."
He said the vision can be achieved in five years instead of the 10-year time frame, but it's still going to take years.
"People want to see big splashes," Mann said. "Well, big splashes don't happen. You make progress one inch, one foot, one yard at time. We're moving from a point of what I would call reactionary to proactive."
Mann said Fort Scott can build on already established positive aspects of the community. That's why the words "heritage" and "pride" are included in the vision statement.
"We have a great heritage because of the history of this town and how it came about and what it is. People throughout Kansas know Fort Scott," he said.
Armstrong said a challenge that could hinder Fort Scott from reaching the vision is the negative self-image of the community, and that needs to be corrected.
"If, as a community, we don't embrace the vision and find some way to support each other, it is doomed to fail," Armstrong said. "If the people of this community are willing to get involved -- we each have a responsibility to give back to the community we live in."
"Some of us can invest money, others volunteer time, others support to those involved in making Fort Scott's vision a reality. I don't know if it's possible in 5 years, and I wouldn't want to try and rush a deadline. These are significant goals, challenging goals, and they must be treated as such," Armstrong said.
The Five Goals
Participants at the retreat conceived five goals aimed at bringing the vision statement to fruition, Woodbury said.
Each goal is equally important, and one goal doesn't take precedence over another.
The five goals are as follows:
* Building community-based home and business improvements.
* Promoting "outside-in" economic development.
* Promoting the downtown park and gazebo as a center of civic life
* Developing the Marmaton River as an asset.
* Developing the aquatic center.
Local businessman Jared Witt was on the vision team at the retreat that devised the community-based home and business improvements goal.
"Basically, what we talked about is how important it is for Fort Scott to be an attractive place to live and work," Witt said. "When people drive around our town, whether they're visiting or living here, we want it to look good. We want it to look clean and put together. We want to focus on any properties that are sort of an eyesore, whether they be a home or business. If you want to create good momentum in any community, it has to be a place that looks good, that looks sharp, that looks taken care of. "
He said improving the town's look could result in more businesses coming to Fort Scott.
"We want to be thought of as a town that takes pride in the way it looks," Witt said.
Witt was one of eight members of the vision team that created the goal at the retreat, where four of the goals and the 10-year vision statement were born.
Eight Fort Scott residents were selected to serve on action teams that will follow each specific goal. Members include Bill Meyer, Kevin Allen, Don Miller, Audra Young, Kate Emmett-Sweetser, Ermalea Mitzner, Ken Anderson and Gary Billionis. "I think we have a very strong team. These people are willing to take a leadership role."
Each of the five goals is broken down into sub-goals that are under five-year, two-year and six-month estimates of where the development of the goal should be.
In the next six months, action team members will begin reviewing city codes and ordinances, so they can understand city procedures and past revitalization programs of the city, such as the neighborhood revitalization program, which includes tax incentives for residents to clean up their properties.
"We don't want to fix being an old town, we like being an old town, that's who we are," Witt said. "Just because we're an old town doesn't mean we can't take pride in the way we look and the way we appear to people. Will this goal solve every problem of dilapidated buildings? Of course not. But we can do better than we are doing now."
Witt said it will be a difficult task filled with obstacles. The long-term or five-year goal the vision team developed is to reduce neighborhoods in need by 50 percent while increasing participation in the neighborhood revitalization program.
Vision team member Tyler Ropp said reducing the neighborhoods in need will be accomplished by identifying the six neighborhoods in greatest need. So in five years, at least three of the six neighborhoods will be cleaned up and restored, Ropp said.
Two "co-conveners" are attached to each of the five vision teams. Ropp is one of the conveners with the goal. Woodbury recently has taught each convener to be a facilitator and organizer to keep the action group focused on each sub-goal. Debbie Anderson is the other convener.
Witt said for change to occur -- the idea of it being centered on community-based involvement -- emphasis must be on communication and "finding out what people need and why they've let things go down and see what kind of assistance they need."
Change in a residential area must come from residents, not members of the action team going door-to-door and asking if they can clean up the property, Witt said.
"It has to be a form of getting the word out there that if there are people who want help, that this group wants to help. It depends on the willingness of people to get things done. The idea is to find people who are willing to make improvements, who want to do it and just need to help doing so," Witt said.
A "domino effect" could result where home owners might be more willing to fix up their property, if they see their neighbor's residence improved, using the assistance of the action team.
Ropp, also on the vision team, said improving 20 properties along the Wall Street corridor is a priority under the two-year goal.
"That (Wall Street) is a highly visible area coming into Fort Scott, and it doesn't (currently) look good for the town," Ropp said.
Also listed as one of the goals intwo years is tearing down the grain mill located on Wall Street and U.S. 69 Highway.
Next week: the promoting the river as an asset and downtown park and gazebo as a center of civic life goals.