I've always believed that community engagement is critical for ensuring that people have a voice and a stake in shaping the future of their community. Building understanding and trust through effective communication with stakeholders is crucial when organizations make region-wide decisions. Over the past two and a half months, this belief has been reinforced by our journey with the Stellar Pathways program.
In that time, the One Dearborn County Stellar Pathways region has followed a rigorous community engagement schedule. From city, town, and county commissioner meetings to traditional public engagement sessions, from redevelopment meetings to engaging students at local schools, we’ve been everywhere. We've conducted online surveys, attended business association meetings, and even participated in pop-up events like community concerts, 5Ks, and parades.
Why? Because for us, it's essential that the community fully understands what the Stellar initiative is about—and, more importantly, has a voice in how they'd like to see their community transformed through our strategic investment plan, whether or not we secure the Stellar designation. We've also made it a priority to keep the community updated throughout the process, ensuring transparency in our progress, decision-making, and next steps. This ongoing communication strengthens trust and keeps the community involved every step of the way.
The diversity of input we've gathered has been amazing, with ideas coming from community members of all ages. Some suggestions are things we don’t even need Stellar to implement, like improved lighting in a pedestrian tunnel for nighttime visibility. This process has been eye-opening, and it's reaffirmed the value of consistent, widespread community engagement.
Initially, I wondered if we might be overdoing it, attending a different meeting nearly every other night for a month. But now, after reflecting on all the input we’ve received, I’m glad we made that strong push. The feedback we gathered ensures that our plan truly reflects what the citizens of our region want.
As we approach the end of September, our public engagement efforts will begin to taper off as we move into the next phase of the strategic investment planning process. By December 3rd, when we present our plan to the Stellar Grant selection committee in Indianapolis, we’ll have a solid, community-backed strategy to showcase.
Gage Pace
Economic Development Manager