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Ideas to create a tighter sense of Community

Hello, I am fairly new to silverton. only have a year or so under my belt, but I have always felt as though I had finally found "home".
Now that I have gotten fairly settled and am beginning to try and integrate myself properly into the community I have been finding random ideas that I think would bring the community more into an active role.(im not saying it isn't, more like to scoop up those who have yet to take up interest) So.. Since I luckily fell across this neat site, I figure i'll toss a few out there.. see what you think.

First of all, I thought it would be nice for silverton to have a "Community" Garden.. essentially a plot of land where people can for a small fee tend their own fruits and veggies and be able to feed themselves..Obviously it wouldnt make the residents completly self sutainable but it would allow us with out land of our own to be able to get back intouch with the land and grow healthy food, and give yet another place for silvertonians to meet.

The second idea is cheaper and easier to do. I suggest some where centrally located we place a box (i am visualizing something creatively painted) where residents can at their whim add comments and suggestions about silverton and how to make it more to the liking of the people. I figure alot of people may be like me in not reallly understanding how to go about suggesting things to the people of the city and this way even a lazy person could be participating in the direction of the town.
Perhaps it could aide the planning commission and such with their decisions.

So yeah and then the third would be void if the suggestion box happened, but some where centrally located to be a "wish list" of sorts of types of businesses people would like to see in Silverton. I think it is a magnificent town, and alot of the shops are fantastic, but it seems to me that if we aimed towards having particular types of stores in town we wouldnt be so secondarily reliant upon Salem and Tourism. Those are great but we need to take care of the people's needs before we go on trying to attract more.

So thats all I have today! Glad to have found you all and hope to see your ideas and suggestions!

Transfixed's picture

I agree with Alluscion's

I agree with Alluscion's ideas very much.
Silverton is a great town, but it never hurts to enhance the sense of community, unity, and togetherness. And so if we could work actively to get more people involved in the direction of the town, by getting more people to come to city council meetings, or town-hall meetings or whatever.
Maybe we should more actively advertise these meetings to the public, and alert them of upcoming meetings so we can come together and enhance our common ideas for the future of Silverton.

Another idea that I think is good is something that other small towns across the US are experimenting with, which is to turn city-council meetings into city-wide teleconferences by allowing anyone to call in and listen in to the meeting, and allow specified times for anyone to speak up and offer suggestions. This would REALLY enhance community involvement, especially during the Winter months when people don't/can't travel...

Also, seemingly small things that can have a huge impact are very important, such as keeping aging buildings painted and looking nice, putting in sidewalks where there aren't any, replacing sunbleached stop-signs etc... these kinds of things go a long way towards improving the community.

One problem I have with the Oregon Garden is a good example for the town to follow philosophically, I believe.
The problem isn't the Garden itself, but the presentation on the way up TO the garden. It's a lengthy drive up that hill to the garden at the top, and it always seems disregarded, full of debris like branches, leaves, weeds etc... and it sets a poor tone for the wonders at the top. If they were to maintain that drive better, maybe put it a small curb on each side of the road and plant some colorful flowers & trees all the way up, it would do WONDERS for the mood and tone of the Oregon Garden and set people up nicely for what to expect.
I was there yesterday with my father who has never been, and as we drove to the top he kept saying things like "Is this it? Where's the Garden? Is THAT it? Which way do I go? What's with all the branches?"
Poor presentation is a killer.

If we as a town keep that in mind, it will not only attract more of the tourism we like, but enhance OUR OWN satisfaction of our town and anhance our overall sense of community.

That's all my advice for now I guess. :)

www.wearethekey.net
http://wearethekey.freeforums.org

admin's picture

Great Ideas

Those are some great Ideas!
I was at a planning commission meeting and one of the commissioners did mention the community gardens, I think it was commissioner Golden. This seems to be a genuinely excellent idea in my mind. IT was briefly talked about in the parks & recs master plan. If there is some citizen involvement in the parks & recs master plan I think the city would go for this for sure!. You other ideas are excellent as well.

Alluscion's picture

I also had another idea a

I also had another idea a ways back that i hadnt rememebered until now.. That little fountian/pond thing (i beleive it is a memorial of some sort) in McClaine Park, near the entrance to the foot bridge that crosses over the creek, I was noticing that it was well, a tid bit on the skimpy sidewith great potential.. I think some thing as simple as perhaps The Statuary-or some sort of local sculpter creating a statue for the center of the fountain, maybe a mosaic tile-or treated painting floor of the pool, something to give it more of the Life that is embedded in the community...

How does one begin the suggestion process?
I never really had any small government explanation in school or in my personal life.. so really when it comes to making an effort in the community I draw a blank at what would be square one...

MarilynBr's picture

It's original purpose was a

It's original purpose was a wading pool for the little ones. I reminder as a child (I'm now almost 60)wading in it when I was a child. Very fun.