Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/19/2013 - Strategic Planning

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Ramsey Final Report Grant No. 05 -1237 City of Ramsey PREFACE Six years ago Ramsey started in a deserted fire station parking lot after a work session between City Council and the Planning Commission. What grew from that conversation in the dusk near a cornfield became what one consultant has termed "the most extensive citizen involvement process of any community in the metro area working on its Comprehensive Plan." What follows is the story of that process, a process that could not have taken place without the collaboration and generosity of the McKnight Foundation. We offer this story in part to fulfill the grant's requirement of a final report, but also in the spirit of the process which drove the grant and McKnight's funding decision. We also offer it as a story we believe can help other communities. Because we wanted the story to be as complete as possible, this report is a bit lengthier than a typical final report. Along with the usual data about results, we include examples of resources used by the process, reference materials we found helpful, and offer a supplemental "scrapbook" of program materials. The story these materials tell is of a quiet revolution in which a still -in- process dramatic change took place in our community that moved us from a place where there was suspicion of -- and even hostility toward -- city government, to a place where, as a long -time resident put it, "This is the most together I have seen this city and I have lived here since 1944." We sometimes referred to this revolution as "Reinventing the Suburb." When most people think of such a phrase they tend to evoke a mental model that focuses on design and appearance. While these are a crucial part of what we have and hope to accomplish, the most important lesson we learned is that true reinvention is a process that, above all, is about citizen involvement. Robert Putnam explored this dimension of the American suburb in his book Bowling Alone and in more detailed statistical studies he and his research team have conducted on what they term "associational density," by which they mean civic engagement. What they have found is an ominous decline in associational density, particularly in suburban America, a development they believe poses a serious challenge for American democracy. Ramsey believes that "Reinventing the Suburb" is not so much about cul -de -sacs as it is about nurturing processes that increase citizen involvement in decision - making While we have not yet reached the point Putnam would like to see, we believe our quiet revolution has taken a huge step in that direction. The term "paradigm shift" is used too easily these days, but for Ramsey we truly are in the midst changing what Peter Senge terms the "mental model" of community. The participants in the Ramsey process, while of diverse backgrounds and views, all are in firm agreement that the City can no longer go back to the old paradigm. Where the city will be a year or even a decade from now we can not predict, but perhaps the most dramatic outcome of this grant lies in the fact that the community no longer fears or is skeptical about the future. Instead we embrace it. 3