Participants in the 2010 “We the People” AmericaSpeaks 21st Century Town Meeting® recently reconvened to review and prioritize the recommendations that came forth from the assembly. Approximately 300 people devoted a full Saturday in October at the Sportscenter to examine community challenges in economic development and education.
Six priority goals were identified during the town meeting:
“We the People” Town Meeting participants also developed community strategies to reach these goals and dozens of other ideas were generated that may have merit even though they were not ranked as high as the priorities.
During the follow-up meeting, there was a general consensus that the focus should be on energizing existing organizations and fostering collaboration rather than establishing new groups.
The “We the People” Leadership Council is well-suited to track progress, encourage action and acknowledge successes – but it will take responsive community leaders, governmental bodies, public and private agencies, advocates and others to implement these recommendations.
Next Steps:
Implementation could be led by:
Citizens Committee on Education
Regional Alliance for Education
Owensboro Municipal Utilities
Kenergy
Implementation could be led by:
State legislators
Local colleges and universities
Implementation could be led by:
Workforce development agencies
Business community
Education curriculum specialists
Next steps:
Implementation could be led by:
School guidance counselors
Prospective sponsors
Representatives of various professions
Implementation could be led by:
School guidance councils
Site-based councils
Parent-Teacher Organizations
Family Resource Centers
Next Steps:
Implementation could be led by:
Citizens Committee on Education
Chamber of Commerce
Civic/service organizations
Foundations
Next Steps:
Implementation could be led by:
Preschool providers (private, Head Start, etc.)
Advertising/communications specialists
Social service agencies
Pediatricians
Implementation could be led by:
Citizens Committee on Education
Chamber of Commerce
Civic/service organizations
Foundations
Youth service agencies
Churches
Neighborhood Alliances
Next Steps:
Implementation could be led by:
Chamber of Commerce
Economic Development Corporation
Colleges and universities
Implementation could be led by:
EDC Board of Directors
Fundraising task force
Fundraising consultant
Implementation could be led by:
Information Technology task force
Next Steps:
Implementation could be led by:
Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission
PRIDE
Citizens for Good Government
Implementation could be led by:
Environmental Impact Council
Chamber of Commerce
Economic Development Corporation
Sierra Club
DC Sweep
Implementation could be led by:
Ursuline Sisters of Mt. St. Joseph
Environmental Impact Council
Daviess County Public Schools
Events Center – architects, advisory committee
Owensboro Municipal Utilities
Kenergy
Implementation could be led by:
Environmental Impact Council
Local recycling businesses
Sierra Club
Implementation could be led by:
Environmental Impact Council
Foundations
Civic/service organizations
Churches
You are invited to observe the presentation and engage in dialogue with the project architects.
You may be interested in…
All are welcome!
A special invitation to:
This public meeting is hosted by: City of Owensboro
In his Feb. 6, 2011 article posted on Citiwire.net, Edward McMahon, senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute, paints a grim picture for commercial strips, malls and big box stores that have characterized community development for more than 50 years.
“The era of strip development is coming to an end. Evolving consumer behavior, changing demographics, high priced gasoline, internet shopping – are all pointing to a new paradigm for commercial development.”
Retail space has grown five to six times faster than retail sales. Consequently, strip centers across the country are littered with more than a billion square feet of vacant space. As many as 400 big box stores sit vacant. This has not been as apparent in Owensboro, yet there are some notable examples: Goody’s, Service Merchandise and vacancies in Towne Square Mall.
McMahon says that retailers are moving back to urban areas. Even Wal-Mart, the dominant retailer that has always appeared indifferent to the urban core, is looking at new layouts, designs and parking schemes to fit into urban environments – including a model in which Wal-Mart occupies 80,000 square feet on the first floor of a five-story mixed use facility with 300 apartments and space for other small retail shops.
“Most analysts agree that urban neighborhoods are the new frontier for retail: the one place left with more spending power than stores to spend it in,” McMahon said. In Owensboro, however, we seem to be diluting the compactness of our city and the spending power that accompanies it.
While we salute and celebrate major employers who choose to do business here – wherever they locate – imagine the downtown retailers and restaurants that could be supported if U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Atmos Energy and others could have found a way to build or expand downtown. Moreover, in Owensboro, we are even seeing public buildings move from downtown: Owensboro Municipal Utilities, Social Security and state office buildings. And we missed out on a transforming urban redevelopment opportunity when Owensboro Medical Health System announced it was moving the hospital to a rural site.
Once a source of excitement, strip centers and malls increasingly bring forth complaints about traffic congestion, sign clutter, homogenous franchises, and an environment designed more for cars than people. Shopping centers are not cool and popular places to hang out, particularly among the GenY generation.
That is not to say that downtown Owensboro has reached that level of appeal or that it will once the riverfront park is complete and there is a new hotel and convention center. Downtown will need a concentration of retail, food and drink gathering places, live music and the arts, street life, walkability and spontaneity – mixing workers, visitors and residents.
McMahon sees other challenges for commercial strip developers. National unemployment may linger at high levels. Retailers will put an end to unlimited credit. Consumers will be more frugal. “What’s more, strip centers without anchors (like grocery stores) and Class B malls are virtually unfinanceable.”
Where will retail fit into the new world of e-commerce, social media and mobile phones? Netflix and streaming video have essentially led to the demise of video and music stores. E-readers may mean the end or downsizing of bookstores.
McMahon envisions hybrid shopping centers and malls that look more like traditional main streets. Given the significant amount of vacant and underdeveloped land contiguous to Owensboro’s downtown along the river, does this create unique opportunities for a mixed use urban village?And even as we develop downtown, it is not in our community’s interest to see failing strip centers and vacant big box stores. But perhaps we don’t have to look like every other suburb. Perhaps we can set higher standards of planning and design: underground utilities, attractive lighting, tree-lined streets, landscaped medians, subdued signs, safe pedestrian and bicycle access, interesting and attractive architecture.
And even as we look at ways to enhance the quality of suburban development that is inevitable, should we provide incentives for suburban development? Downtown redevelopment is expensive (e.g., a $30 million events center), but so is suburban development (e.g. plans to widen Southtown Boulevard and Highway 54 are estimated at $44 million), and it leads to the need for expanded police and fire protection, drainage, schools, parks and more..
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Health Care Reform is a continuing source of heated debate and attempts to repeal or delay its implementation.
There appears to be widespread agreement that our current health care delivery system is unsustainable. Yet, efforts to address the problems reveal striking philosophical disagreements over how to go about addressing the problems: the role of government in health care; the right of everyone to affordable care; impact on government debts and deficits; the authority of doctors, drug and insurance companies; the need to curb skyrocketing costs; and much more.
If Health Care Reform remains in place, what will the law mean to residents of Owensboro-Daviess County? What are the costs? What are the benefits?
The uninsured are…
If Health Care Reform is repealed:
Alternatives proposed by opponents of the new Health Care Reform law:
The new Health Care Reform law preserves the current public-private system of employer-based coverage, enhances public programs and private coverage that is already in place.
The changes will occur over ten years to give consumers, employers, health providers and insurers time for implementation.
Sources:
Kentucky Voices for Health (www.kyvoicesforhealth.org)
A nonpartisan coalition that believes the best health care solutions are found when everyone works together to build them.
Public Life Foundation of Owensboro
Estimates of local impact were calculated by PLFO staff as a percentage of the population. For example, assuming that Owensboro-Daviess County is relatively average, if 100,000 Kentuckians are served by Medicare, that would translate to approximately 22,600 in Owensboro-Daviess County (2.26%).
On Jan. 7, Kentucky Senate President David Williams set forth a plan to address tax reform (Senate Bill 1) through a panel of experts whose recommendations would face an up or down vote in the 2012 General Assembly. The proposal apparently is dead on arrival given the partisan gridlock that characterizes the legislature.
There may be legitimate concerns with the bill. Some legislators want an opportunity to help craft the recommendations alongside the experts. Others see it as an abdication of their responsibilities to non-elected citizens. Some claim that it’s just more political positioning.
Nonetheless, without comprehensive reform, legislators will continue to move money around, borrow from one fund or another to balance the budget. We will continue to wrestle with an antiquated tax system.
Without additional revenue, legislators will have no choice but to cut more programs and services that are funded traditionally through state government: K-12 education, community colleges, technical schools, universities, nursing home care, health care for poor children, roads, bridges, prisons and more.
If we don’t think the current course is wise, responsible or sustainable, and if we don’t have confidence in the state legislature, why not try another approach: let’s turn to the people – the collective judgment of informed citizens who have engaged in civil, deliberative conversation about the tough choices which now confront our state.
This is not to suggest another poll. Polls have value, but they are snapshots in time only. Respondents may or may not be well-informed. They are not given an opportunity to think about their responses. They cannot benefit from dialogue and deliberation with others.
In order to get the attention of the governor and the legislature, we need to engage the citizenry in a dramatic way. We need more than focus groups, stakeholder meetings or appointed panels. We need to assemble a critical mass of participants – perhaps an unprecedented number of participants. People from all walks of life and all regions of Kentucky.
These could be assemblies in every area development district, half a dozen cities across the state, or one mega-meeting if participants are recruited from every region. They could occur over several days or weeks, or they could be held simultaneously and linked by satellite or webcast.
For example, if the target were 4,000 participants for a statewide town meeting: In Daviess County, we would be expected to recruit 120 participants and our proportionate number by gender, age, race, education, income and residence. A similar outreach effort across the state could attract participants that reflect Kentucky’s demographic profile.
To ensure that all participants are well-informed with balanced and reliable material that can be understood by all, representatives of leading statewide organizations and those with special expertise in state government finance would need to sit across the table and hash out how the options are framed. They would need to sign-off on the language used in the discussion guides to be used during the assembly.
This committee could include representatives of the Kentucky Consensus Forecasting Group, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, labor organizations, Bluegrass Institute, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and others. Facilitators and communications specialists could guide the process.
Discussion guides would set forth the nature of Kentucky’s budget-tax reform challenges, strategic options, pros and cons connected with each option, and potential costs and consequences. Videos could supplement the information in the discussion guides.
Once well-informed with balanced material, hundreds of groups of eight-ten citizens would deliberate over these options. Each table would have a trained facilitator and recorder with a laptop computer to register key points made during the deliberations. This raw data would be sent to a team trained in how to analyze and tally the recurring themes. The leading options would be presented to the full group on large screens in the front of the room. Participants would then vote on their preferred options with individual keypads, producing instant results.
This would be hard work. These are complex issues. It would involve tough choices and tradeoffs. But the people are up to it.
Moreover, the recommendations would be difficult for public officials to ignore. Whatever the outcomes, we would surely see less gridlock and more common ground on which to move our state ahead.
This form of participatory democracy has been pioneered by AmericaSpeaks of Washington, D.C. The Public Life Foundation (through a special grant from Founder John Hager) was the initiating sponsor of two local “21st Century Town Meetings” using this methodology. Last fall, Louisville was one of the sites in an AmericaSpeaks national discussion on the federal budget deficit: “Our Budget, Our Economy” – a national discussion among 3,500 Americans across 57 sites nationwide.
Let’s trust in the collective wisdom of an informed citizenry. Let’s give our lawmakers a better sense of the range of action which the public will support. Let’s begin work now on “Kentucky Speaks,” an unprecedented statewide town meeting on budget-tax reform, to be held this fall prior to the 2012 General Assembly.