Interview subjects raise new high school as No. 1 issue
By Austen Smith, Editor
PUBLISHED: July 17, 2008
In what marks the first step of a comprehensive plan to spur community and economic growth throughout the Belleville area, Rotary Club members recently concluded a Community Needs Assessment report interviewing local leaders, elected officials and business people.
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The report showed the things the interview subjects liked about the tri-community area of city of Belleville, Van Buren and Sumpter townships, areas in which the community could make improvements, top community needs and how the Rotary Club could help.
There were 20 participants in the study which took the course of more than several months. While there were a number of things the interview subjects commonly touched on, Rotary Club members Ray Eissenger and Roger Lindley, who conducted the interviews, said each of the participants had slightly different views of the Belleville area, where it has come from and where it is headed.
"It is apparent from reviewing the summary comments...that the scope of the responses varied considerably," it stated in the report. "Some participants viewed the questions from the narrower perspective of their leadership or job responsibilities, while others took the broader view of the general welfare of the total tri-community.
"There is no right or wrong view on this. Despite the diversity of input, there are some conclusions that can be drawn immediately and seem to be anchored in common ground across the community."
Thos conclusions that are "anchored in common ground," are as follows:
n By and large, Belleville is considered the hometown of residents in most of Van Buren and Sumpter townships.
n Most of the survey participants recognize that there are benefits to be realized if local governments and other agencies can cooperate to assist each other, eliminate redundancy in services, save the taxpayers' money, and create a broader sense of community. Even though comments suggested that the people of the broader community were good "salt of the earth" people, achieving unity will take work and committed leaders.
n Rotary, with its apparent neutrality on issues, could be a catalyst for influencing managed change through discussion forums and targeted support actions.
As far as the immediate needs for the community which could be addressed in future discussion forums, improved high school facilities topped the list for most of the participants. After that, participants talked about increased cooperation between neighboring areas even to the point of consolidating services such as police and fire.
Other recognized needs included better programs and facilities for young people including both recreation-type facilities and education; facilities to accommodate the various needs for general community gatherings and artistic presentations; providing seniors help with living at home and local transportation.
Coupled with local needs, participants were also asked to talk about what existing areas of the community are in need of improvement. There were a wide variety of responses including more public interest and involvement with schools, condition and facilities in public parks, increased programs for teens, more public transportation programs, the overall image of the area, increased cooperation among community agencies and governments, improved infrastructure such as road improvements and water and sewers, preservation of lake frontage sites for public use and more diverse cultural and arts-related events.
Participants also suggested other projects that could be introduced into the community over the next few years such as the establishment of a civic fund (similar to the existing Van Buren Township Civic Fund) or foundation for special projects or to improve the long-term quality of life for residents, the establishment of a community-wide recreation center, looking at common standards among communities for shared geographical areas and possibly establishing a stronger Salvation Army presence south of I-94.
With all of the information gathered from the participants, what's next?
In addition to going over the basic needs of the community, participants were also asked how Rotary members could help facilitate continued community involvement and possible future projects.
Rotary members are in the unique position to interact seamlessly among local agencies and governments to facilitate community cooperation and provide non-controversial forums for community issues and provide platforms to achieve positive consensus on plans and actions. This idea was mentioned in one form or another by 11 out of the 20 participants of the survey.
Others suggested that Rotary continue to execute current projects - student scholarships, literacy efforts and support for community public safety workers and assisting agencies such as the library, arts council and Belleville Area Museum.
Others thought that Rotary could help by providing specific funding support for chaplains for public safety, software for museum cataloging and tracking and various arts-related initiatives.
Rotary Club members will now pore over the information in the Needs Assessment and then start the process that may just pave the way for some of the projects and initiatives outlined in the information.
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