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Appendix 7. Summary of Community Visioning A goal of this community assessment is to involve as many local citizens as possible in creating an exciting vision for Cortland County's future. We need to celebrate the things that we do well and work on things that need improvement. This report is a first step. It is a collection of indicators that inform us on our health and social issues. One of the steps of involving the community was a process called Community Visioning. To efficiently get ideas from many people within a limited time frame, we requested the help of every service club in the county. These folks, we reasoned, were already invested and committed to our community and would give us guidance in the planning for health and quality of life improvements that this report envisions and hopefully will help generate. This summary details the highlights of those service club meetings to which we were invited during the spring of 2001. We asked our participants to be futurists, "the sky is the limit; let your imaginations fly." One of the most unique responses was a request for a weather room to create summer all year round in Cortland (perhaps a bubble over Yaman Park?). Other fun ideas were:
A full list of the suggestions is available from the Seven Valleys Health Coalition, 17 Main Street, Cortland NY 13045. Here is a brief list: Health and Safety concerns
Social Cohesion, Culture and Recreation
Economy, Employment and Welfare
Housing and Environment
Positive Development through the Life Stages
Overall, it was interesting to note that people were asking for things that were already in progress such as the expansion of Lime Hollow Nature Center, a county comprehensive plan and a one stop center for employment and other social service needs. They wanted more attention to town/gown relations, more inter-municipality cooperation and sharing of resources, more opportunities for volunteer experiences and community service, more restaurants, recreation, and arts and culture. The river trail concept received high grades from everyone. People were particularly interested in opportunities for intergenerational activities, especially music in the parks. Several people thought that welfare is too easy to obtain yet had no qualms with state and federal grants and tax breaks to businesses. A focus group with battered women revealed great difficulty in obtaining the needed welfare services - food and shelter - for their families. |
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Cortland Counts: An Assessment of Health and Well Being in Cortland County NY The Seven Valleys Health Coalition, Inc. These five organizations make up the Cortland Community Assessment Team (CAT) Seven Valleys Health Coalition, Inc.
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