Community focuses its vision

Saturday brought local leaders together to discuss the direction of Sisters and what tangible projects might become "community assets." After a full day's work, some progress was made.

CATS, the Community Action Team of Sisters, guided the large local turnout through the visioning process and the vision statement that has been languishing over the last year. However, it looks as though this time that there may be some more fruit on the tree and words could be replaced with action.

The turnout was exceptional, according to some.

"I was really impressed with how many people came to the event. The turnout was much better than it has been in the past, and it shows that the community is trying to pull together," said Bill Mintiens, chairman of the Sisters Economic Development Committee.

New to the visioning process in Sisters was Eric Porter, the city's director of planning and community development.

"I was impressed with the turnout and wasn't sure what to expect. It was very impressive. The speakers were very good and guided us through the process. Overall, I felt like this was a very productive time for the community," he said.

Although many believe that the meetings in the past have not yielded much fruit, that is not the case.

"People are always wondering if anything good will ever come out of the visioning process, and it is easy to point out that there have already been some significant benefits to the city. The community garden is one that comes readily to mind," said city councilman Bill Merrill.

The day's work distilled itself down into two tangible projects:

"One project was an economic development package that would stimulate the local economy and perhaps even include a part- or full-time position for someone who would work to promote the area to attract businesses to the area that pay family wage jobs so that the employees could afford to actually live in Sisters," said Porter.

Merrill agrees that doing something to encourage economic development is a good idea; however, he is not convinced that just having a economic development director is the solution.

"We need to inventory what we already have and develop a goal that is meaningful with the resources that we have available. It is a very complex issue that has implications for the whole city. Some businesses wouldn't be attracted if the infrastructure isn't adequate. We need to know what we have to offer and the pros and cons of attracting different businesses. A paid economic development director will not be a silver bullet," he said.

The other tangible project was more broadly based and would also impact Sisters Country.

"The parks and recreation theme was seen as a popular project for the area. It is to involve the area outside the UGB (Urban Growth Boundary) and not be Sisters-centric. The creation of a recreation project that might include a pool or ice rink or even snowmobile trails would be considered. One of the criteria is that the project has to impact the whole of Sisters Country and not just the city itself," said Porter.

Understanding what we already have was a theme that resounded again and again from many of the old-timers in attendance. "I don't understand why when talking about a parks and recreation district that would cover more than the Sisters City Limits, the subject of SOAR (Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation) never came up. They are the de-facto parks and recreation district and have taxing authority. Why attempt to reinvent the wheel?" said Dr. Bonnie Malone, president of SOAR's board of directors.

A project that didn't receive as much support was the repair of the roads.

"To me this is a big issue, and we need to decide how to accomplish it, whether it is by a gas tax or some other mechanism. The roads have a big effect and are a major part of the infrastructure. They have a strong effect on economic development. No business wants to move to an area that is decaying," said councilor Merrill.

Committees will be formed some time in the future to investigate the two proposed projects and see if something can evolve that could make a meaningful difference to the greater community of Sisters.