First thoughts upon hearing of the meetings: fantastic. The very fact that the a plan was off and running to create an Action Plan signals that the ‘Green’ movement is not just a trend, as some fear, but an substantial public mindset. From the perspective of citizen, the process began with an introductory meeting, followed by breakout workshops on individual focus topic – I attended workshops on Energy, Forest Health, Economy, and Open Space & Recreation. Since I’m a bit far away form the introductory meeting, I forget if the town officials informed the audience of specific goals for the meetings and for the Action Plan, but as I remember, the most we got was ‘get a feeling of how the town stands.’ A great goal, but as an attendee, it was not useful for directing my thinking. If they did inform us, they have not done so at the breakout meetings, which would most definitely help. Because of this vagueness, I had to sort out the idea of an Action Plan myself.
To build an action plan, you first must determine ( as fully as possible) the current conditions. Then you predict the future conditions based on current trends. Both of these tasks were performed by the town officials, and presented in each workshop. While people may not agree with the projections, in the context of the Action Plan, these projections exist mainly to identify potential issues which exist now, or may exist in the future. The truly important part is the next step: determining the optimal desired future conditions. The difference between anticipated and desired futures is the land of the sustainability Action Plan. So these beginning meetings are about determining the desired future and the priority of the issues at hand. Then, you determine the actions necessary to make the changes. From my outsiders perspective. It seemed like the meetings have been blending all these components together, to the detriment of attendee understanding. Other considerations for the Action Plan include building it so it can evolve with changing conditions, both economic and environment and including a measure of accountability, allowing people to observe the progress.
On a personal note, participating in the process presents a different type of action, an involved, informed citizen helping to direct the town, but without taking an official role. In my musings on how I could positively affect the world, I’ve noticed the significance and practicality of the mantra, ‘Think global, act local.’ Especially right now, the most global influence I have is educating myself of global issues. But locally, I have a voice, and can help shape local conditions. And as another attendee pointed out, ‘Those who show up rule the world.’ Finding that though my voice may be weaker and more indirect compared to that of an official position inside the planning department, it allows both local involvement, as well as time for more engaging passions (i.e. a job better fitting to my skills and interests.)
I’m looking forward to the rest of this initial step, as officials are building questions for larger online poling of the community, as well as their closing event in September. I hope the information they’re gathering now can be successfully sorted and organized to help design and implement Breck’s Sustainable Action Plan and thus green this amazing mountain community.
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