Group nears unveiling of vision for city's future

A new vision for Terre Haute is about to be unveiled.

Terre Haute Tomorrow, a citizen-driven volunteer group, will unveil its 10-year strategic plan on Friday. The “Community Plan” plan will be available that day on the group’s website, www.terrehautetomorrow.com.

The 40-page document is the result of months of work by more than 100 community leaders who have come together to dream up ways to improve the city. The plan sets goals and objectives in several key areas, including quality of life, community image, economic development, workforce and leadership development and infrastructure.

Details of the plan are being withheld until Friday, but it is expected to include a wide range of goals ranging from the very specific to the very broad. The goals vary greatly in the time in which they can be implemented.

“Some of the things that these groups are tackling could be 50 years out,” said Brian Miller, co-chairman of the communications committee and a member of the Terre Haute Tomorrow steering committee. Other objectives are already underway, he said.

There are five main committees, called “action teams,” and two supporting committees for fundraising and communications.

The action teams have met several times since a May 2013 forum at which more than 80 people gathered for an organizing session. The Wabash River Economic Development and Beautification group, better known as Riverscape, is a single subcommittee within Terre Haute Tomorrow.

Most of the plan is still under wraps, but one proposed objective is to improve communications between job training programs, employers and job seekers in the community. Another objective is to include underground conduit for fiber optic cable as part of street improvement plans.

Miller said he hopes Friday’s unveiling of the plan will attract new people to become involved.

The Community Plan is expected to evolve over time, said Steve Witt, president of the Terre Haute Economic Development Corp. and co-chairman of the Economic Development action team. Some new goals will be added and some current goals will probably never see the light of day, he said.

Behind this whole effort is a desire to make Terre Haute a more attractive place to live, work and play. The people involved in the project so far are often experts in their specific committee areas, but sometimes they are simply people with a lot of enthusiasm, Miller said. And while they have ideas to improve the city, Terre Haute Tomorrow is also aware that good ideas need future support to survive, he added.

“It’s not just about building [new ideas], it’s about sustaining them,” he said.

 
From the Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Posted: Monday, January 26, 2015 12:00 am
By Arthur Foulkes
812-231-4232 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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