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Medford’s grand plan turns a year old
Joy Olson’s vision was a Bear Creek Greenway free of trash. So she organized a cleanup effort along the path where she likes to run, bike and skate — a project that city officials say is a model for the kinds of citizen initiatives they hope the city’s year-old "vision plan" inspires. Mayor cites successes, but critics see few results By Jessica Smith Joy Olson has a vision. With support from City Hall, Olson wants to encourage community members to help make Medford’s open spaces true community treasures by sponsoring park cleanup projects. "I want to be part of the solution and not just beat people over the head by telling them ‘Clean up your trash,’ " says the avid runner, bicyclist and inline skater who adopted a stretch of the Bear Creek Greenway and picks up the rubbish that collects in the grasses and blackberry bushes. Motivated people like Olson are the ones who will bring life to the "vision" developed for the city in June 1999, Mayor Lindsay Berryman says. After two years of planning and community involvement, the city adopted a list of principles to shape the future of Medford last summer. An 11-page document outlines objectives in areas such as parks and the environment, housing, education, public safety, arts and culture, transportation and growth. But a year after the city adopted the plan, questions remain about who has what responsibility and when residents can expect to see changes in the community. Skeptics argue that city leaders are asking too much from Medford citizens by expecting them to initiate specific projects based on a broad government-driven policy. "You can say the people should get involved, but the intent of the vision process was to tell the leaders where the people wanted to be led," says Mark Soderstrom, a Medford insurance agent who worked on one of eight citizen-input groups in the vision process."It’s only if the city takes a leadership role that we’ll see any results," Soderstrom adds.Leadership in City Hall is important, Berryman and others acknowledge. The community, however, must be willing to work with leaders to make clear objectives. "We need to listen, but the community needs to act," Berryman says. "Citizens have to continue to take responsibility for the community and initiate ideas and spearhead programs. The city is not going to take someone’s idea and run with it." Olson, assistant general manager and development director at KSYS Channel 8, Southern Oregon’s public television station, sought support for her proposal and found it at City Hall. Olson knew an open space cleanup project tied into one of the city’s key goals — creating "attractive, safe, clean" parks. Since first approaching Berryman about her idea, Olson has developed a cleanup plan that includes an awareness and educational campaign, a Web site, and recognition awards for groups that make significant contributions. Olson says her project is simple — she just wants to get gum and candy wrappers, soda fountain cups and other litter off the ground. "I think it really will reflect well on all of us," Olson says. "And you’ve got to start somewhere." Berryman points to Olson’s initiative — and another group that wants to start a downtown arts festival — as the kind of public/private partnerships the vision process will spark. But some say it’s not much to show for the two years and $75,000 that went into the highly publicized and lauded vision process."I haven’t seen much happening," says Bob Roe, an ATM repairman who helped shape the city’s look-ahead plan. "I hear that the vision document is being used, but I personally don’t see it." And with such broad, sweeping generalizations about the city’s goals, how can leaders proceed in making changes? "I don’t know how anybody could take that report and say we have a firm idea, or we know what the community wants to do with parks, or housing or anything," Soderstrom says. Council members and the mayor, however, assure community members that the future they envisioned is beginning to take shape. Change takes time, they explain. "I understand people are frustrated. Sometimes it appears this is all process and no product," says Councilman Bill Moore, who was Berryman’s opponent in the 1998 mayoral election. "But we’ve got the goal in sight and we’re going for it." There’s more to come, but Berryman, Moore and others tick off examples where they say city leadership has already made a difference: A completed sidewalk master plan. An economic development coordinator hired to boost Medford’s economy and create good jobs. A skateboard park and a BMX bike trail. A successful bond to build a new downtown library. A multicultural commission to promote cultural diversity. Still, a vision carries a city only so far, leaders say. The mayor warns there’s more process ahead, including a strategy for funding and implementing focused, measurable objectives. Some of that has been accomplished; city budget makers tied dollars to council goals linked to the vision. In retrospect, Berryman says, the city should have invested time in laying a stronger foundation for translating the vision into action. And the city should review the vision document in three to five years to ensure it’s still a good fit for the community, she says. Yet when Berryman considers projects like Olson’s, she says she sees the best that the "process" has to offer. "It’s freed people to feel like they can let their imaginations soar," she says. "We have engaged and empowered people in the community to act on their values and I think we’re seeing apathy turned into action." |
