FoCuS: The Future of Collier Created by Us

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Final Report to the Community

Winter 1998

FoCuS Home Page Final Report Home Page Education    Community Character    Health Founders/Sponsors

Mission Statement

"The people of Collier County, working together, will create and, with our governments, implement a plan for our future which preserves our area’s unique character, fulfills our expectations and respects our values."

 

A History

A citizen's initiative with an express goal of developing a roadmap to preserve Collier County's future, FoCuS forged broad-based citizen involvement and became a civic institution which has worked to make a community-conceived vision a reality. At the same time, it has created a legacy - of wide-spread involvement in a civic agenda, of reasoned framing of key community goals, and of community-wide collaboration on priority issues.

...an initiative born when a representative group of interested citizens organize in 1994

  • Thirteen organizations join together to sponsor the effort
  • A 70-member inaugural Steering Committee, representing every facet of the community, begins the work

...the initiative bloomed as a participative process incorporates citizen input in 1995-1996

  • "Visioning" process is set into motion with facilitator Gianni Longo; this methodology is later also adapted by the City of Naples for its planning process
  • Community Brainstorming by 1,300 citizens and volunteers generates 1,000 ideas for the future
  • Goal-Setting meetings are attended by 500 to clarify issues
  • FoCuSFairs lead to 3200 votes on priority of goals
  • Seventeen goals are identified and examined; ten (e.g., crime, affordable housing and airport noise) are found to have been achieved or in process; seven requiring action move forward

...the initiative became reality as the targeted effort moves ahead in 1996-1998:

  • Task Forces on Health, Education, and Community Character - including Urban Design, Greenspace, Transportation, Water Resources and Economic Diversity Subcommittees - set to work
  • Resources, needs, action plans are identified
  • Task Force Final reports are issued to the public
  • Implementation steps are undertaken by appropriate organizations

Board of Directors

President: Jerry Coomes

Executive: James Rideoutte, Ned Putzell,

Committee: Susan Diamond, Ursula Pfahl, Fay Biles, Carol Girardin

General Directors: Ken Abernathy, Ed Morton, David Guggenheim, Dudley Goodlette, Art Jacob, Barbara Kent, John Passidomo, Kathleen Slebodnik

Public Officials: William Barnett, Pam Cox, Robert Fernandez, Bob Munz, Tim Hancock, Richard Woodruff

Geographic Representation: Donna Fiala, Harold Hall, Fred Thomas, Russell Tuff

Finance Committee Chair: Jerry Nichols

Task Force Chairs

Community Character: Tom Taylor, Jerry Coomes

Education: Ray Miller, Jean Rawson, Henry Watkins

Communications: Susan Diamond

Health: William Bayes

Transportation: Sally Barker, Art Jacob

FoCuS has identified and planned for those measures which can help preserve what makes Collier County special. As these plans are put in place, we will all reap the rewards of citizen-initiated planning."

Jerry Coomes, for the FoCuS Board of Directors
Naples Free-Net Logo FoCuS Home Page Final Report Home Page Education  Task Force   Community Character  Task Force   Health Task Force Founders/Sponsors

The website version of this report was designed and created by
HMS Management Group, Inc, Naples, Florida
This web document is located on the pages of the Naples Free-Net at www.naples.net/clubs/focus

Updated 04.20.99