Wednesday, May 13, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
25
sisters seeks economic vitality at summit
By diane goble
Correspondent
Many of those who want
to be part of shaping the
future and strengthening the
economy of Sisters were at
FivePine Conference Center
last Friday as part of the
Economic Vitality Summit —
Shaping Sisters.
The event was spon-
sored by the Ford Family
Foundation and organized
by Rural Development
Initiatives (RDI) with assis-
tance from Sisters Economic
Development Manager
Caprielle Foote-Lewis. RDI
is a nonprofit formed by the
Oregon legislature to help
rural communities across the
Pacific Northwest grapple
with the economic downturn.
They focus on leadership
development, building capac-
ity of rural groups, and mov-
ing capacity to action.
The agenda of this event
was not a visioning process
but an opportunity to look
at things that are being done
successfully in similar com-
munities in similar economic
situations and make them
applicable to Sisters by tap-
ping into the broad base of
knowledgeable, skilled and
motivated leaders, a diver-
sity of effective organizations
and productive collaborations
among organizations available
in this town.
After a presentation of
ideas related to the chang-
ing rural and world economy,
Agenda...
Sisters City Council
City Hall, 520 E. Cascade
Avenue
May 14, 6 p.m. workshop
1. Transportation System
Plan (TSP)/Transportation
Growth Management (TGM)
grant.
2. City council candidate
discussion.
A. Public hearing — Ordi-
nance No. 458: Amending
development code.
B. Ordinance No. 459:
Comprehensive plan amend-
ment eliminating references
to back-in diagonal parking.
C. Approve FY 2015/16
City of Sisters goals and
priorities.
D. Instream lease for the
Lazy Z Property – P. Bertagna
E. Contract with Spend-
thrift Forestry Consult-
ing LLC for City Forester
services.
F. Contract with Richards
Bartell’s Construction for the
E. Jefferson and E. Washing-
ton parking and pedestrian
improvements.
G. Finalize business-owner
survey.
there were several panel dis-
cussions with current and
former Sisters High School
students, nonprofit organizers,
and local business leaders and
entrepreneurs demonstrating
the level and variety of talent
available in Sisters Country.
Panelists talked about
the current situation and
what they think needs to be
done to attract more fami-
lies, improve our schools,
create living-wage jobs,
provide affordable hous-
ing, take care of our seniors,
attract new businesses,
and energize the economy.
The afternoon session,
Taking Action Locally &
Building Momentum led
by Noelle Colby-Rotell
and Alexa Carey from RDI
and Foote-Lewis, split the
approximately 100 attendees
into four groups, each with a
facilitator, to generate ideas
about what could be done in
certain areas that would lead
to a more robust, collabora-
tive, and growing economy in
Sisters Country.
The discussions were ani-
mated and productive as each
group generated a list of action
items, which will be compiled
and distributed to the email
list. Follow-up groups will be
organized by the sponsors to
facilitate further discussions
and grow community engage-
ment in the process.
Foote-Lewis hopes this
event will ignite passions, stir
imaginations and encourage
participants to become part of
the solution by continuing the
discussion beyond the summit
to get the friends, neighbors,
and co-workers excited about
contributing to Sisters’ future
economic growth.
Following the conference,
participants were invited to
Three Creeks Brewing Co. for
hors d’oeuvres and libations,
and to continue the conversa-
tion. Comments about the pre-
sentation were positive, but
there’s a wait-and-see attitude
about what’s going to happen
next.
Jessica and Douglas Mohr
of Mohr Solutions in Sisters
appreciated the networking
opportunities and being able
to put names with faces; he
felt this kind of event “evens
the playing field and the bar-
riers start to come down.” She
believes in “pursuing excel-
lence and capitalizing on
Sisters’ unique heritage.”
Jay Wilkins said the con-
ference was a great use of
time... “a lot of information all
in one place, good conversa-
tions, brought the community
together.”
Several people mentioned
there didn’t seem to be a
coherent vision for the future
of Sisters. Are we a tourist
town, a retirement community,
a destination resort, a great
place to live and raise a fam-
ily? Are we all of the above?
They seemed to feel that until
there is a clear vision, all this
great conversation will go
nowhere because people don’t
agree on what Sisters is.
Bill Birnbaum thought the
conference would continue to
stimulate creativity.
“When you get enough
smart people in a room,” he
said, “they are bound to come
up with some good ideas.” He
sees this as an important first
step. He and Bob Hoffman
agreed that the energy has to
be directed. “Come up with a
vision and that gives you the
direction,” Hoffman said.
For more information, con-
tact Caprielle Foote-Lewis at
541-549-6022.