SISTERS, OR -- Over the past several months, Sisters Country Horizons has talked with residents, met with community leaders and conducted several online surveys in an effort to develop strategies that will improve livability in the area. They'll release their results and the top-scoring strategies at a summit, Thursday evening.
Sisters Mayor Chuck Ryan says it’s been years since city leaders have received this kind of information, "Things have changed so much, macro- and micro-economically, we felt it was time. There are just so many things that everybody wants us to look at, whether it’s affordable housing, or economic diversification, or an ice skating rink – it runs the gamut." The first Sisters Country Horizons survey, completed by nearly 500 residents last spring, showed people value most the area’s natural environment and small-town feel.
Ryan says the process to get to this point has taken a while, but it's been very deliberate, "We don’t want it to go on the shelf, so we’re making sure we try to do this the right way. We’ve got consultants involved, we’ve got the county involved, we’ve got organizations like COIC involved. We’re just trying to take it one step at a time and not have to do this over again in a year or two years."
At Thursday's meeting, the group will also formally launch a Vision Action Team, made up of 32 people from various sectors. "This team’s going to meet four or five times over the next couple of months and come up with action plans that will be achievable over the next couple of years," Mayor Ryan tells KBND News, "We’re trying to strategize what’s important for the city and how we execute those strategies over time and try to do things the right way, and not rush into things, and not over-plan and under-execute."
The Vision Summit will be held at Five Pine Lodge & Conference Center, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
