Envision Lakeville: Public Forums Today, April 2 and 4

Editor's Note: The following is from the city of Lakeville.

The Lakeville City Council has initiated a citywide visioning process called Envision Lakeville. The purpose of the visioning process is to bring people together to share opinions and ideas about what they “envision” for the future of Lakeville. The process will include residential, commercial, and industrial property owners as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, asking them to help shape the future goals of the community and potentially align interests and resources to make those goals more achievable.

The visioning process requires input from all sectors and perspectives.

Community Forums

As part of this visioning process, the City will be convening three more community forums to provide an opportunity for the community at large to weigh in on issues ranging from community values to quality of life and priorities for City services. The community forums are open to all, and will be held on four different evenings over a two-week period to provide convenient choices. The sessions will be led by a trained facilitator and will employ the use of “electronic voting” technology - enabling participants to register their votes on issues live at the meeting - with real time results! The meetings are scheduled on the following dates:

• Wednesday, March 27
• Tuesday, April 2
• Thursday, April 4

All meetings will be held from 7-9 p.m. at Kenwood Trail Middle School, at the intersection of Kenwood Trail and 192nd. Download the flyer below for more information.

Task Force

The City Council will appoint a vision plan task force made up of a diverse set of backgrounds from throughout the City. The task force will be responsible for reviewing data and input from a variety of sources including results from a staff and advisory board survey, a community survey, four town hall forums, and seven focus group meetings. The task force will also consider current and future trends regarding housing, development, demographics, and potential changes in the community presented by guest speakers at task force meetings. The task force will use this input from the community and, with the facilitation of a consultant, propose a unified community vision. Upon completion, the City of Lakeville’s Community Vision Plan will be a tool to guide the City when making and analyzing decisions and setting policy direction. Based on this understanding, the following is a list of anticipated outcomes to be incorporated into the community vision plan:

• Clear City/community vision – an analysis of how the City is “positioned to thrive,” what are we trying to achieve, and/or what does the City want to be known for?
• Strategic objectives – to allow the City to align services with community expectations.
• Guiding principles (core values) – for future decisions.
• Recognizable cohesive community characteristic and image.
• Review of the community’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.

Please check back below for periodic updates regarding the Envision Lakeville process. If you have any questions, contact the City of Lakeville Administration Department at (952) 985-4403.