The Visioning & Planning Process
In January 2007 the board of directors of the Pioneer Bluffs Foundation initiated a planning process to gather input and ideas from the local community and to establish a clear vision for its future. Funded by National Scenic Byways, an additional goal of the process was to build community awareness and foster further investments of volunteer energy in the Foundation.
Board president Bill McBride and executive director Lynn Smith led the planning process, which was facilitated by John Divine and Heather Fuesz of the Salina-based Leadership Firm, and supported by a team of expert consultants, including:
Scott Carpenter, Archeologist
Ted Hartsig, Ecologist
Bill McBride, Architect
Bill Morris, Architect
Marva Weigelt, Historian
Ted Wolff, Landscape Architect
Planning was organized around a series of three meetings:
A workshop on February 22, 2008 engaged the consultant team with a group of thirty community leaders and other stakeholders to envision the future of Pioneer Bluffs. Using a planning and evaluation tool called Whole Measures (developed and published by the Center for Whole Communities) the group shared ideas about activities and programs, and heard from the consultant team about opportunities for preservation and re-use of land and buildings.
The ten Whole Measures are: Justice and Fairness
Relationship between people and land
Community Building
Healthy Eco-systems
Healthy habitat for people
Stewardship
Community Resilience
Economic Vitality
Power of story
Being in Service
A second meeting, open to the public, on March 28, 2008, drew a group of fifty people who provided feedback on a draft version of the Master Plan, and discussed strategies and goals for achieving the mission of the Foundation.
At a third meeting, on April 27, 2008, board members reviewed and discussed their vision for the property and identified priorities for 2008 and 2009.
An informal planning committee including Bill McBride, Lynn Smith, and board secretary Julia Fabris McBride, worked between meetings to articulate the emerging vision and strategies.