Earlier this evening the first meeting of Chapel Hill 2020’s leadership team was held. So far there seems to have been much confusion on how the whole planning process will work, so I’m going to try to clear that muddiness up with all my newfound knowledge.
Basically, next Tuesday there will be a general meeting at which any and all comers will be asked to come up with a list of important areas they think the plan and the town need to focus on. A list will be drawn up and then refined at a similar meeting on October 6th. Each of these theme areas (as they’re officially called) will then be assigned a working group that anyone can sign up for. These groups will be led by members of the leadership team and use a variety of tactics to get public input on their topics.Eventually the work on the topics will be synthesized to help the professional staff understand citizen thinking on certain subjects.
So that’s the process, at least as I understood it. I imagine things will come into a clearer focus as we move forward. I think the ideas proposed are good ones, I just hope that theme area working group commitment isn’t so high as to leave out those whose voices are important but who can’t invest all that’s required. Whatever the case, the leadership team co-chairs noted that the process has been intentionally left open so that maximum input can be achieved.
Speaking of that process, I’m sure many of you wondering how it came about. I have an answer. The Chapel Hill Town Council appointed an initiating committee to set it up. In composing the committee, the council tried to select as diverse a group as possible and to choose people who had limited experience in government. In addition to sketching out the planning process, the committee also formed three new committees to make the process run smoothly: logistics, resources and outreach.
Finally, we arrive at how the leadership committee was selected. That to me seemed less clear. From the conversations I overheard, it seemed that the two Chapel Hill 2020 co-chairs recruited most people. I wondered how someone less connected would be able to land a spot. I also have to admit that looking around the room, the makeup of the committee disappointed me. It was decidedly white and decidedly older. Everyone also seemed pretty middle class. There were a lot of businessmen and a few former local politicians or people associated with UNC. One of the leadershipteam memebers herself commented on the lack of representation for the African-American community in the group.
All this being said, I left the meeting with a feeling of optimism. Everyone involved seemed genuinely excited about and invested in getting as many diverse perspectives to include in the plan as possible. Mayor Kleinschmidt talked about the challenges that Chapel Hill faces very eloquently and with such feeling and seemed truly committed to making this a people's plan. He set the bar high and said his goal is to get 10,000 Chapel Hillians--that's almost one in five town resdients--invovled in the plan in some way. There was a recognition that though the leadership team seemed homogenous now, outreach was being done and it was having some success.
At this point, still early in the process, hopes are high.
My hope is that those hopes come to fruition.
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