City receives 23 applications for new Vision Commission

COLUMBIA — The Columbia City Council within the next few months will decide which of the 23 volunteer applicants will serve on an advisory group tasked with tracking the progress of Imagine Columbia's Future.

The City Council will appoint seven core "coordinating committee" members and up to five special-skilled "resource members," if it chooses. Applications were due to the city clerk by Friday.

The commission is the next iteration of the ongoing visioning process and will play key oversight and coordinating roles for the groups directly responsible for carrying out the goals outlined in last February's final plan.

The commission was formally established with an Oct. 6 City Council vote.

The council has yet to decide how it will proceed with vetting the applicants or whether all or some will be interviewed, said Assistant City Manager Paula Hertwig Hopkins.

Six of the 23 applicants were members of the original Vision Committee, the citizen group that worked with ACP Visioning and Planning consultants to compile the project implementation plan and final report. 

The Vision Commission structure stipulates that two of the seven coordinating committee members reside in unincorporated parts of Boone County. City Clerk Sheela Amin said just three of the applicants meet that criterion, leaving 20 applicants for five remaining coordinating committee spots, with the possibility of appointing five resource members.

Amin said time will be allotted during a Monday council work session before its regular meeting. Once scheduled, interviews will be open to the public, likely at either a pre-council meeting or separate work session, she said. City Council members have not yet seen the applications, Amin said.

Applicant Dianne Drainer, a former co-chairwoman of the Vision Committee, described the commission as the "core group of neutral brokers for the process."

"The commission will be a way of having a report card on the ways, strategies and goals are being met moving forward," she said.

Volunteer commitment to the commission is significant. Coordinating committee members serve staggered three- to five-year terms. Optional resource members serve two-year terms.

Once appointed, the commission will be responsible for putting together an annual report that measures citywide progress toward meeting the outlined goals. The commission will identify by March 31 specifically how it will measure and report this information. The first annual progress report will be issued in December 2009.