NEWS & EVENTS

'Showcase' event delayed as CVP awaits concept drawings
By Mike Christopherson, Managing Editor
Crookston Daily Times

September 23, 2005 - For the Crookston Vitality Project, it's been an ongoing balancing act of late.

On one hand, the CVP has given birth to a half-dozen sector groups, each of which has identified goals and objectives, some of which are already being accomplished. But on the other hand, one of those sectors - the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Sector - has spearheaded the one potential project that has created by far the most buzz in the community: a new community center/arena facility.

The challenge for CVP leaders has been to keep the overall CVP initiative true to its mission, which is to create "An Emerging Road Map to the Future." In order to do that, the CVP has to be about more than just the pursuit of a viable community center/arena project. It has to be about striving to achieve the goals identified by all of the sectors.

Given all that, the CVP Steering Committee for weeks had been planning a "Showcasing the Future" event on Monday evening, Sept. 26 in the new student center at UMC. The event would have come approximately one year after the CVP's kickoff event at Crookston High School, when a good crowd turned out to hear what the CVP was all about, discuss the community's priorities, and enjoy the finest in local cuisine at a "Taste of Crookston." It was at that event that the sector groups were born, as citizens who attended signed up for the group or groups that interested them. Those groups have been meeting and prioritizing ever since.

The Sept. 26 event was to feature a second Taste of Crookston event, too. In addition, those who attended would have been given a handful of dot stickers and they would have had an opportunity to indicate, using the dot stickers, which sector goals were most important to them.

But just in case food and stickers weren't enough to lure out a large crowd, CVP leaders were psyched up about another "hook" to catch people's attention and get them to come out: the unveiling of architectural concept drawings of the proposed community center/arena, courtesy of Widseth Smith Nolting.

There's just one problem, CVP leaders learned recently: The drawings wouldn't be finished by Sept. 26.

Initially, the event was to go on as planned. But at the suggestion of steering committee member Dan Wolpert, the Sept. 26 event last week was delayed indefinitely, until the WSN concept drawings are ready for public view. In making the decision, the steering committee decided that, although the CVP as a whole is about much more than the proposed community center/arena, the concept drawings have the potential to be a major attraction and any community-wide CVP event needs to feature those drawings.

Craig Morgan, leader of the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Sector, told the steering committee that he wasn't comfortable having WSN rush to get drawings ready for public viewing, when use of the space, programming and site issues (linking the former junior high to the swimming pool by constructing an arena between vs. construction of a new facility) need to be worked out. It's such an important project, Morgan said, that it simply can't be rushed.

"This is a critical opportunity, and we need to do it right," he said. "This is not the time to rush anything."

So stay tuned. When the drawings are ready, the CVP will schedule the event.

Who's who, what's what

In addition to the Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources sector, other sectors include Community Leadership & Involvement, led by Ann Graham; Education, led by Chad Palm; Economic Vitality & Community Development, led by Dave Genereux; Healthcare & Human Services, led by Jana Brekken; and, Theater & Arts, led by Dale Knotek.

Steering committee members include Kari Thompson, Amber Bailey, Aaron Parrish, Betty Arvidson, Dan Svedarsky, Dan Wolpert, Dan Wilson, Jeannine Windels, Joe Massey, Joy Johnson, Kent Bruun, Mike Christopherson, Ralph Christofferson and Susan Mills.

Once the date for the next CVP community event is scheduled and publicized, the Times will take a detailed look at all of the sectors' goals and things they have accomplished in the past year.