Clarion Blueprint Community Will Present Draft Strategic Plan to Clarion Community May 6

Amy Powers

Amy Powers

Published March 24, 2015 4:25 am
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CLARION, Pa. — The Clarion Blueprint Community core team will host a town hall meeting at 7:00 p.m. on May 6 at the American Legion, Clarion, to present a draft of its strategic plan.

“We’re looking forward to getting community feedback on the draft plan and beginning work on the Year One projects,” said Carol Lapinto, a member of the core team and president of the Clarion Borough Council.

In addition to seeing the draft plan, attendees will hear from the core team about three of the major goals outlined in it.

The next step is to develop partnerships within the community so that the plan can be implemented.

“The Blueprint Communities training is complete, and the committee is eager to form partnerships that will give us the support we need to work on our strategic plan,” Lapinto added.

Lapinto and the core team graduated from the program during a ceremony in State College in early March 2015. The graduation marked the end of the first phase of the project, which included a community survey, a draft vision statement and a draft strategic plan.

“I have been quite impressed with the very thorough process and training that this effort has undergone, and I am very much looking forward to receiving the draft strategic plan in order to consider how Clarion University can be most helpful to the success of the plan,” said Karen M. Whitney, Ph.D., president, Clarion University. “We all have a stake in turning this plan into a reality.”

Over the next several years, the Clarion Blueprint Communities core team will continue to engage local residents and businesses in developing a clear vision and strategic plan for change in Clarion; work to develop stronger local leadership; and attract investments to build a healthier, sustainable community. The primary goal is to revitalize Clarion’s commercial district.

Last year, the team developed a draft vision for the community that takes into consideration the results of a community-wide survey. In May and June 2014, the perceptions of 445 individuals who work, sleep, eat, shop, study, worship, or own businesses or properties in Clarion Borough were recorded as part of the Blueprint Communities Perception Survey.

The Clarion Blueprint Communities Core Team is comprised of: Tracy Becker, Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry; Elise Deitz, Clarion Farmers’ Market; Dr. Phil Frese, Clarion University; Eric Funk, Community First Bank; Dawn Kidney, community leader; David Love, Clarion University; Daniel Parker, Clarion Free Library; Dr. Brenda Sanders-Dede, Clarion Borough Council and Clarion University; and John Troese, local attorney. Lapinto is an alternate member.

The Blueprint Communities effort is a partnership between Clarion Borough and Clarion University. Clarion Borough was one of only six communities to be selected for this year’s Blueprint Communities initiative, which is in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.

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