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22 March 2005 6 PM Steering Committee Present: David Cunningham, Anne Munger, Cecilia McGuire, Jean Butman, John Fedor, Nancy Elkington, Holly Boyce, Joe Trenn, Cynthia Renninger, Tina MacMillan, Whit Humphreys, Dawn Pedro Discussion of Steering Committee / VLT trust issue: Gil read letter and minutes and found them very disturbing. He asked Brian and Phil not to do anything more for the Steering Committee until after meeting with Gil on March 29th. Gil made no mention of budget letter. Reading it made him reluctant to give money, and the minutes put him off. Questions about the Steering Committee / Planning Commission relationship: Sharing information about our project was discussed. When addressing this issue, views of all Steering Committee members must be represented. Planning Commission has expressed an interest in our survey results. Jean and Whit will go to the Planning Commission meeting tomorrow evening. Jean is a member of the Planning Commission. They will present the attached letter from the Steering Committee. Much Discussion It is not necessary to do anything more than this letter at the Planning Commission meeting that Whit and Jean will attend on 23 March 2005 (tomorrow night). Whit agreed that they would not present anything beyond the SC’s letter. Similar letters are being sent to the Selectboard and School Board. Copies of all are attached. Much Discussion about inviting elected officials to participate in our events but not have Benson: Past, Present & Future and the Steering Committee get mixed up in town politics. We have been and continue to be sensitive about not addressing issues within the domain of the School, Planning Commission or Selectboard. Any ideas to develop changes to the town plan or school curricula were rejected early on in the planning of our project, but our information and results will be made available to town officials, should they wish to use them in their work. By consensus, we all agree to send the letters to the School Board, Planning Commission and Selectboard. Discussion about budget and meeting with Gil next Tuesday. Much Discussion about Gil. He said to Whit that he “should have come to us with a bit more structure” in the early stages of this project. Anne said that we should have known the budget from day one. Discussion of the Timeline: Survey - Comments and changes. A subgroup will meet to refine it and bring it back to the SC at the next meeting. Field Trips - Claire has scheduled the Amphibian Walk, and will schedule a historic field trip and a clayplain field trip. Jean commented that several people mentioned a desire for field trips in their comments on the event evaluation survey on 17 March. Six of the surveys requested historic field trips and 3 expressed interest in any field trips. Reserve Front Row at events for old folks and those hard of hearing. David will contact Carrilon to schedule a boat trip on Lake Champlain. Fundraising - Print proof sheets of photos available before printing and framing them. Claire is making her photographic talents available for sale to raise money for the project. Interviews - Much discussion about purpose and target groups. Continue discussion at future meetings. Recreation Forum - John presented research on how to accomplish this event that he downloaded from the internet. Need a facilitator. John will ask Walter Poleman. Discussion of who to invite to participate. One representative from each of the following (names of people under consideration to invite deliberately omitted from the minutes at SC members’ request):
Get some younger people and children to add to this list. Meeting adjourned at 8 PM. Respectfully submitted, John Fedor
Attachments: 3 letters NOTE: FAXED TO WHIT 22 MARCH 2005 in preparation for he and Jean to present letter to PC on 23 March 2005 with the following on the fax cover sheet: “Please review, and make sure that between Tina and myself, we got what happened down correctly - especially because of the sensitivity of the issue with the PLANNING COMMISSION, and because of the issue with VLT. I hope they don't give you grief when you read the SC's letter to the PC tomorrow night! Please do record any questions that they have, so that the SC may respond to them, or better yet, ask the PC to pose any questions in writing! BEST WISHES, John”
Benson: Past, Present & Future 22 March 2005 To the Planning Commission, Thank you for your interest in Benson: Past, Present & Future. Benson: Past, Present & Future is a community project to celebrate Benson’s past, explore its present and consider its future. This project is completely non-regulatory in nature. It was presented to the Selectboard, who supported the idea, and is funded by a grant. Professional facilitators have assisted with program and survey development; and the project is designed to provide an opportunity for residents to learn about our shared resources. Residents are also encouraged to offer their thoughts about how they’d like to see Benson in the future. This project represents a unique and special opportunity to engage residents in exploring ideas about Benson’s future informally and outside of the Planning Commission’s regulatory process. In the first part of the project, the PLACE Program is presenting information about Benson’s geology, cultural history, & ecology, in a series of informational talks and field trips. As you may have learned from the mailings sent out to you and all residents in Benson, these talks have been scheduled as follows: March 3 7 PM Community Hall March 17 6 PM Community Hall March 31 7 PM Community Hall April 21 7 PM Community Hall In addition, the first field trip has been scheduled: April 23 in the morning (exact time to be decided) We were pleased to see 4 planning commissioners (more than half of you) at the March 3rd event. We encourage the Planning Commissioners, and all residents of Benson, to come to the other events. The fourth PLACE Event will be used to tie together the first 3 presentations and introduce a discussion about Benson’s future. While all events have not yet been scheduled, additional Field Trips (Hikes, Walks, & Tours), a Lake Champlain Boat Trip on the Carillon, Slide Shows of Historic and Recent Photos of Benson, a Recreation Forum, and a Town Conservation Fair are planned. As these events take place, the steering committee will be listening to town residents and recording the information we hear. We hope that this educational process followed by events that allow Benson residents to express their opinions and ideas will result in the articulation of a community vision or visions for Benson’s future. We feel that it is valuable to learn which things in Benson people value, and which things residents would miss if they were gone. The information that we learn through this process will be made available to the public. Some information is being made available as we go along through our website www.bppf.org. Even though this community project is completely non- regulatury in nature, we feel that the Planning Commission may be interested in the information that we collect. We encourage you to read our final report when it is published and to participate in the various events that comprise this project. Information collected throughout this process will also be made available to the Benson Village School, and Shelburne Farms has offered to help develop curricula, should teachers wish to do so. Because one of our goals is to foster discussion about Benson’s future, we are making it clear to everyone that we have no connection to any land use regulations that the Planning Commission may be developing. It is important that Benson residents see our events as informal places to express their opinions about Benson’s future, whatever those opinions may be. We are making it clear that we have no agenda other than to educate the public about Benson’s past and record the discussion that emerges about Benson’s future. With the help of professional consultants, we have developed impartial surveys to gather feedback from the community. While we are asking the questions, and recording the answers, it will be the community at large who provides the input to this project and decides how to use these results. We feel that the School, Selectboard, and Planning Commission may find the results valuable in making decisions or planning curricula, and look forward to learning if you find them valuable. One additional comment: With respect to the Conservation Fair, we will be inviting the Planning Commission, land conservation organizations, the NRCD, and others to have booths. We sincerely hope that the planning commission will participate in this conservation fair. Finally, the Steering Committee has meetings that are open to the public and everyone is welcome. Much information is available on our website www.bppf.org, and it is constantly being updated with information about upcoming events, and survey results from past events. We encourage you to tune in to the website frequently for additional information. If you would like e-mail announcements / reminders of upcoming events, please send an e-mail to news@bppf.org. Thank you for your time. Yours truly, Whit Humphreys Chair
Benson: Past, Present & Future 22 March 2005 To the School Board, We are writing to you because some of you may not be familiar with this project. Benson: Past, Present & Future is a community project to celebrate Benson’s past, explore its present and consider its future. This project is completely non-regulatury in nature. It was presented to the Selectboard, who supported the idea, and is funded by a grant. Professional facilitators have assisted with program and survey development; and the project is designed to provide an opportunity for residents to learn about our shared resources. Residents are also encouraged to offer their thoughts about how they’d like to see Benson in the future. This project represents a unique and special opportunity to engage residents in exploring ideas about Benson’s future informally and outside of the Planning Commission’s regulatory process. In the first part of the project, the PLACE Program is presenting information about Benson’s geology, cultural history, & ecology, in a series of informational talks and field trips. As you may have learned from the mailings sent out to you and all residents in Benson, these talks have been scheduled as follows: March 3 7 PM Community Hall March 17 6 PM Community Hall March 31 7 PM Community Hall April 21 7 PM Community Hall In addition, the first field trip has been scheduled: April 23 in the morning (exact time to be decided) We encourage the School Board, and all residents of Benson, to come to the other events. The fourth PLACE Event will be used to tie together the first 3 presentations and introduce a discussion about Benson’s future. While all events have not yet been scheduled, additional Field Trips (Hikes, Walks, & Tours), a Lake Champlain Boat Trip on the Carillon, Slide Shows of Historic and Recent Photos of Benson, a Recreation Forum, and a Town Conservation Fair are planned. As these events take place, the steering committee will be listening to town residents and recording the information we hear. We hope that this educational process followed by events that allow Benson residents to express their opinions and ideas will result in the articulation of a community vision or visions for Benson’s future. We feel that it is valuable to learn which things in Benson people value, and which things residents would miss if they were gone. The information that we learn through this process will be made available to the public. Some information is being made available as we go along through our website www.bppf.org. We feel that the School Board may be interested in the information that we collect. We encourage you to read our final report when it is published. Shelburne Farms has offered to help develop curricula about Benson’s natural and cultural history, should teachers wish to do so. Because one of our goals is to foster discussion about Benson’s future, we are making it clear to everyone that we have no connection to any land use regulations that the Planning Commission may be developing. It is important that Benson residents see our events as informal places to express their opinions about Benson’s future, whatever those opinions may be. We are making it clear that we have no agenda other than to educate the public about Benson’s past and record the discussion that emerges about Benson’s future. With the help of professional consultants, we have developed impartial surveys to gather feedback from the community. While we are asking the questions, and recording the answers, it will be the community at large who provides the input to this project and decides how to use these results. We feel that the School, Selectboard, and Planning Commission may find the results valuable in making decisions or planning curricula, and look forward to learning if you find them valuable. Finally, the Steering Committee has meetings that are open to the public and everyone is welcome. Much information is available on our website www.bppf.org, and it is constantly being updated with information about upcoming events, and survey results from past events. We encourage you to tune in to the website frequently for additional information. If you would like e-mail announcements / reminders of upcoming events, please send an e-mail to news@bppf.org. Thank you for your time. Yours truly, Whit Humphreys Chair
Benson: Past, Present & Future
17 March 2005 To the Selectboard, We are writing to you because some of you may not be familiar with this project. Benson: Past, Present & Future is a community project to celebrate Benson’s past, explore its present and consider its future. This project is completely non-regulatury in nature. It was presented to the Selectboard, who supported the idea, and is funded by a grant. Professional facilitators have assisted with program and survey development; and the project is designed to provide an opportunity for residents to learn about our shared resources. Residents are also encouraged to offer their thoughts about how they’d like to see Benson in the future. This project represents a unique and special opportunity to engage residents in exploring ideas about Benson’s future informally and outside of the Planning Commission’s regulatory process. In the first part of the project, the PLACE Program is presenting information about Benson’s geology, cultural history, & ecology. As you may have learned from the mailings sent out to you and all residents in Benson, these talks are scheduled as follows: March 3 7 PM Community Hall March 17 6 PM Community Hall March 31 7 PM Community Hall April 21 7 PM Community Hall In addition, the first field trip has been scheduled: April 23 in the morning (exact time to be decided) We were pleased to see a Selectboard member at the March 3rd event. We encourage the members of the Selectboard, and all residents of Benson, to come to the other events. The fourth PLACE Event will be used to tie together the first 3 presentations and introduce a discussion about Benson’s future. While all events have not yet been scheduled, additional Field Trips (Hikes, Walks, & Tours), a Lake Champlain Boat Trip on the Carillon, Slide Shows of Historic and Recent Photos of Benson, a Recreation Forum, and a Town Conservation Fair are planned. As these events take place, the steering committee will be listening to town residents and recording the information we hear. We hope that this educational process followed by events that allow Benson residents to express their opinions and ideas will result in the articulation of a community vision or visions for Benson’s future. We feel that it is valuable to learn which things in Benson people value, and which things residents would miss if they were gone. The information that we learn through this process will be made available to the public. Some information is being made available as we go along through our website www.bppf.org. Even though this community project is completely non-regulatury in nature, we feel that the Selectboard may be interested in the information that we collect. We encourage you to read our final report when it is published. Information collected throughout this process will also be made available to the Planning Commission and the Benson Village School, and Shelburne Farms has offered to help develop curricula, should teachers wish to do so. Because one of our goals is to foster discussion about Benson’s future, we are making it clear to everyone that we have no connection to any land use regulations that the Planning Commission may be developing. It is important that Benson residents see our events as informal places to express their opinions about Benson’s future, whatever those opinions may be. We are making it clear that we have no agenda other than to educate the public about Benson’s past and record the discussion that emerges about Benson’s future. With the help of professional consultants, we have developed impartial surveys to gather feedback from the community. While we are asking the questions, and recording the answers, it will be the community at large who provides the input to this project and decides how to use these results. We feel that the School, Selectboard, and Planning Commission may find the results valuable in making decisions or planning curricula, and look forward to learning if you find them valuable. Finally, the Steering Committee has meetings that are open to the public and everyone is welcome. Much information is available on our website www.bppf.org, and it is constantly being updated with information about upcoming events, and survey results from past events. We encourage you to tune in to the website frequently for additional information. If you would like e-mail announcements / reminders of upcoming events, please send an e-mail to news@bppf.org. Thank you for your time. Yours truly, Whit Humphreys Chair | ||
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