Online Consultation Comes to Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Forum

What can you do when you have 300+ neighbors gathered everyday via a local Issues Forum? Consult them.

Below is letter from Sam Newberg – both a Standish Ericssson Neighbors Forum member and a member of the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Community Advisory Committee asking participants to provide input into county government led community investment project. I’ve alway felt that online events (e-consultations, online consultations, onlne public hearings … choose your term) are ideal for Issues Forums because our participants are a ready made low cost to access audience. Let’s see how it goes. – Steven Clift, E-Democracy.Org

Watch for replies here.

Dear Standish-Ericsson Neighbors Forum members,

Sam Newberg here, writing as a Forum member and also as part of the Minnehaha-Hiawatha Corridor Community Advisory Committee. As Forum moderator Steven Clift announced late last week, today we’re launching a two-week online event on our Forum to get your input about the future of the corridor.

First, a little background: The Minnehaha-Hiawatha corridor from the Midtown Greenway to Minnehaha Parkway will be the focus of major county investments over the next several years. In spring 2008 the county began a two-year effort to determine which types of investments could best revitalize the corridor and improve the quality of life for people who live work, travel, shop, and enjoy the area.

These decisions will be community driven and made in close collaboration with stakeholders, and as part of the Community Advisory Committee, I’m helping gather ideas from a wide variety of stakeholders — like all of you!

We need your perspectives to help us develop an implementation strategy that will leverage strategic investments in the corridor area to address issues and priorities, optimize revitalization opportunities, and reflect community values. While the direct investments will be only within the corridor, as neighbors we are important stakeholders and our voices count.

The question I am posing to all of you is this: What kinds of improvements in the corridor do you think would create a more vibrant community and increase your quality of life?

Over the next two weeks, all your great ideas posed under this subject line will be compiled and included with other stakeholder input as part of our decision-making process.

To see what other people have said and for information about the whole project, click on one of these links:

Project home page: http://minnehaha-hiawatha.com/

Project overview and examples of investments: http://minnehaha-hiawatha.com/project-information/project-overview

Corridor map:
http://minnehaha-hiawatha.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/corridor-map-smaller.pdf

Community Advisory Committee members:
http://minnehaha-hiawatha.com/advisory-committees/community-advisory-committee/cac-members

Input to date:
http://minnehaha-hiawatha.com/community-engagement/stakeholder-input

Thanks in advance — I’m really looking forward to what you have to say!

Sam Newberg
Joe Urban, Inc.
http://www.joe-urban.com