The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the last stages of work toward the Prosperity That Fits economic vitality plan for the future of Benton County and Corvallis!

Food and refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact the Chamber office at (541) 757-1505.

After the first town hall meeting for the Economic
Vitality Partnership project, a large number of possible actions were gathered from the forms and notes that were gathered.

Now it is time to refine and prioritize which actions might be worth exploring.

Please go to:

http://www.evpideas.org/

And fill out the survey.

Please share this with anyone who cares about the future economy in Benton county.

If you have questions, please contact Mike Corwin
at mcorwin@corvallischamber.com 541 714 4286

At the EVP first Town Hall meeting, there was a comment sheet available for people to fill out and to make comments on the process and to get ideas expressed which might not have had a chance to be said.

The EVP Organizing committee got together and typed in the comments so that they could be available on the website.

Here are the comments from 97 people (out of around 300) who attended the meeting.

Economic Vitality Partnership Economic Development Strategic Plan

Town Hall #1 June 2006

Summary of Feedback Forms

1.What does “prosperity that fits” mean to you?

What: Community Town Hall Meeting
Where: Boys & Girls Club, 1112 NW Circle Blvd, Corvallis
When: Wednesday June 7th
Time: Doors open at 5:30 pm, event starts at 6:00 pm
To Register: Click on the link below

https://secure.oregonstate.edu/ocse/register.php?event=135

The June 7th Town Hall meeting will be an interactive affair. Following brief presentations by Economic Vitality Partnership (EVP) representative Pat Lampton and the consultant team led by Jason Robertson of Barney & Worth, Inc., participants will have an opportunity to share their ideas in small group work sessions, participate in an audience-wide electronic polling session, and evaluate and rank a range of action concepts developed by several Focus Area Teams. Preliminary ideas address business retention and recruitment, workforce development, housing and education needs, integrating sustainability into economic development activities and many more topics. Of course, there will also be feedback forms for those who prefer to be less “interactive” when sharing their thoughts.

Retention Focus Area Team:
Bob Baird *
Jay Dixon
Bill Buskirk
Patrick Magee
Mike McInally
Rich Carone
Tammy Jaquith
Lorraine Sorenson
Matt Johnen
Bob Heald

Recruitment Focus Area Team:
Dave Gazeley *
Bob Devine
Randy Jones
Kathy Miller
Bond Starker
Charlie Tomlinson
Frank Hall
Katherine Cleland
Dave Lundhal
Lainie Turner
Casey Moore

Infrastructure Focus Area Team:
Barbara Ross *
Bob Poole
Lee Eckroth
Gary Pond
Barbara Bull
Hal Saleasser
Terri Valiant
Jim Minard
Brian Weldon
Dave Dodson

Sustainability Focus Area Team:
Pete Bober *
Norm Galvin
Pat Lampton

This is the PowerPoint presented to the Benton County and City of Corvallis community open house at the Corvallis Fire Station #5 on February 15, 2006. The process and tentative calendar for the Prosperity That Fits events ahead are detailed in this presentation.

The EVP process outlined by the Strategic Planning Team, includes the following:
1. Community and business input - accomplished by two distinct surveys. One engaging the community and one engaging local businesses.
2. Hiring a neutral third party facilitator (Barney & Worth) to lead effort
3. Document review – looking at all the economic related planning guides, studies and strategies that have been developed over time. The information will be used by a facilitator to identify themes for four focus area team to use.
4. Focus Area Teams will meet twice before the Town Hall Meeting and twice afterward.

The First Round of the Focus Area Teams will meet:

March 13, 2006
Retention 4:00-6:00 pm
Recruiting 6:00-8:00 pm
March 14, 2006
Infrastructure 7:00-9:00 am
Sustainability 11:00-1:00 pm