EDITORIAL
Doesn’t have quite the same ring we’ll admit, however the sentiment is still important.
When we introduced the River Valley Think Tank and River Valley Resolutions initiatives we certainly viewed them as holistic and able to be approached from several angles and possibly while wearing several hats. We still believe that, however it’s important to note several things.
The River Valley Resolutions questionnaire was sent out to serve as a vehicle for sharing standalone ideas you’ve had strike you, ideas about events or services or any number of things you think our communities as a whole should provide.
The River Valley Think Tank questionnaire was sent out to village officials across the area. It’s meant to serve as a comprehensive, put on your public servant hat, conversation starter about the issues facing our communities, solutions to those issues, and projects we should be looking forward to. Similarly, a resident or business owner could put on their respective hats and answer the questions from a very different perspective.
We want to ensure the understanding of the questions isn’t simply or solely “what services should we get from our municipality?” or “what project should the village undertake next?” Those are good questions, but they can’t be the only questions, especially right now. We want to thank Michael Broh for his thoughtful and insightful responses to our questions, which helped inform this editorial.
Things are hard right now, but we can’t rely on any one organization/entity, private or public, to help build the area and community we want, it takes all of us. Instead of “how can the village build or redevelop this project right now?” we should ask how different entities can work together, perhaps with the help of the local government, to coordinate and build community together.
This pandemic has squashed many things, lets not let cooperation be one of them.
Our Think Tank questionnaire can be found here: forms.gle/Mcin8YehPzSe27ku6