Community Visioning seeking community input

The Fort Scott Community Visioning Committee is asking for the opinions of local residents as they plan for the future.

The committee has created the Community Perception Survey, similar to the survey produced in 2005, to collect input from the community. Visioning Committee Co-convener Clayton Tatro said the committee thought that it was time get a sense of the community's perception.

"We felt like it was time to do another community survey to get a sense of where we've come and where we are compared to the last time the survey was given," Tatro said. "It's time to reassess the pulse of the community."

Tatro said the community's input is valuable to the committee's future and the future of the community itself. The committee wants to represent the community and address the most pressing improvements.

"This is an opportunity for us to gage the progress that we have made and get a sense from the community as to what improvements they see and what still needs to be addressed," Tatro said. "I think that any responsive process is going to be open to feedback along the way. Any comprehensive, worthwhile effort is going to want to do some temperature checks along the way to make sure that things are still heading in the right direction."

According to Tatro, the committee needs the input from the community to properly assess the direction in which projects are determined. The committee's goal is to engage more citizens and focus on leaders within the public.

"If we are going to represent and reflect community perceptions and community opinion, we need to know what people are thinking," Tatro said. "We're hoping for a really strong response, a healthy response. We are only as strong, as a community, as the feedback and input we receive; so if folks have strong feelings either positive or negative we want to hear those."

With the completion of Heritage Park, the creation of the Good Neighbor Blitz, the Fort Scott/Bourbon County Riverfront Authority, and the success of the Pennies for the (Ellis) Park, there has been a lot of positive change in the community, Tatro said. In addition, in March 2009, Fort Scott Community Visioning gained accreditation as a "Public Square Community."

"There has been a lot of change ... a lot of positive opportunities in the community," Tatro said. "There have been a lot of positive outcomes that have come from visioning."

Tatro said the changes in the community have been made possible by engaging the five action teams; Developing the Riverfront as an Asset, Outside-In Economic Development, AquaVision, the Good Neighbor Action Team, and the Youth Activities Team.

The survey has been mailed to all water utility customers in Fort Scott and is available on the Chamber of Commerce Web site at www.fortscott.com as well as on The Tribune's Web site via a link on the front page. In addition, the survey has also been printed on gold paper and inserted into the Sept. 11 edition of The Fort Scott Tribune.

Surveys must be completed and returned by Friday, Oct. 2. The surveys can be returned to Fort Scott City Hall, 1 E. 3rd St., The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, 231 E. Wall St., Mercy Health Center, 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., or Fort Scott Community College, 2108 Horton St.

Publisher's Note: As participants in the visioning process from the beginning, The Tribune encourages the community to participate in this survey as it is a valuable part of improving the quality of the community.

For those who wish to go directly to the survey without backtracking to the front page, click THIS link