Next Generation Advisory Board refines Project Downtown summary and plans handoff to incoming members

The Next Generation Advisory Board spent much of its March 4 meeting refining a concise summary of Project Downtown and laying out steps to hand that work off to incoming members.

The chair asked members to spend a few minutes redlining a draft summary so the group could produce a shorter list of priority items to carry forward. Several members supported trimming the long list of suggestions to a small number of top priorities so the board—new and continuing members—could focus their time effectively. One committee member recommended grouping similar ideas into overarching themes (for example: economic development, infrastructure and communications) so the document reads as a cohesive set of recommendations.

Members agreed on these next steps: the survey owner will gather the roster of incoming NextGen appointees and share it with the group before the April meeting; the working draft will be redlined and combined into a narrower set of priority items; and the board will consider soliciting presentations from budget, zoning and public works staff to supply the information members said they need to evaluate Project Downtown.

Board members emphasized balance between producing tangible deliverables (letters or summaries) and preserving space for dialogue and guest speakers to inform recommendations. The chair said the goal is to get useful input in front of city council while setting up a continuing conversation for the new board.