Interviews with over 20 current and former governmental officials and board members are in progress as part of the assessment process, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The committee and subcommittee members are also serving as focus groups providing critical input as well as direction. A survey to solicit input from all residents in the Triangle is also being developed.
While the development of specific goals and action plans will extend well into next year, we hope to be able to share the results of the assessment phase with members at January’s annual meeting.
Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated and can be sent to planning@oldtowntriangle.com.
At the January 2022 annual meeting reviewing potential Major Projects, the members assigned a high priority to preparing a strategic plan to best serve our community. This includes:
A. Preparing an objective analysis of where we are now (using an independent consultant to get confidential unvarnished responses)
B. Soliciting input from members, nonmembers, business owners and government officials
C. Defining who the community is and their most pressing needs (e.g., safety, streets and sanitation, parks, facilities)
D. Identifying the most critical organizational issues
E. Developing a lower risk, less divisive, and more effective advocacy strategy including planning and zoning issues
F. Identifying other opportunities for meaningful cultural, economic and social improvements
G. Ensuring effective, transparent, democratic, and representative governance promoting knowledge of and involvement in the Association
Zac Bleicher, Dorothy DeCarlo, Diane Fitzgerald, Phil Graff, Brad Neuman (Chair) John Engman (Consultant)
Subcommittees
1. Community Development: Planning, Development, Improvements
- Chair: Phil Graff
- Gene Brockland
- Karl Hjerpe
- Steve McClellan
- David Raino-Ogden
- Jennifer Yengoyan
2. Stakeholders: Constituency, Community Engagement, Membership, Events, Programs, Marketing
- Chair: Dorothy DeCarlo
- Sandy Bredine
- Vi Daley
- Jacob Ringer
3. Governance: Setting Policy, PR, Continuity/Leadership/Training, Bylaws, Advocacy
- Chair: Zac Bleicher
- Beth Burk
- Chris Nelson
- Aneta Tomaszkiewicz
4. Finance and Operations: Art Fair, Fundraising, Grants, Art School
- Chair: Diane Fitzgerald
- Shel Beugen
- Claire Leaman
- Leah Marshall
- Rick Rausch
- Ericca Reavis
- Community
- Welcoming People and Ideas
- Stewardship
- Integrity
- Respect and Collaboration
Old Town Triangle Association - Strategic Planning Project - Assessment Report
Submitted by John D. Engman, Consultant - December 10, 2022
Brad Neuman, Chairperson – Strategic Planning Committee
In December, the independent consultant, John Engman, presented his 23-page assessment report to the OTTA Board of Directors. Based on his interviews, work with the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) and its subcommittees and the survey, John identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Key strengths included:
Historical / Architectural / Cultural Programs
Passionate and strong core group
OTTA owns property: the first floor spaces at 1763 N North Park (The Triangle Center)
Strong finances
Consensus about desire to substantially expand membership
Key weaknesses that were identified:
Lack of understanding & alignment on Mission
Not seen as valuable, especially to younger residents
Siloed structure and culture
No Board Development Plan
Few written policies, poor knowledge transfer
From that work, the SPC has suggested that making the OTTA more relevant to more people needs to be a major focus. And for it to be relevant, a goal might be to double member engagement over the next 3-5 years. This would be a combination of more OTTA engagement with existing members as well as cultivating new members.
A culture shift is also recommended, moving from an issue-orientation to people-orientation, connecting and building a sense of community and belonging for everyone. We may not all agree on the most important issues or what to do on those issues, but we can all agree to take care of one another. If we’re not good at taking care of one another, we’re not going to be very good at collaborating to solve issues.
Another culture shift is to make people feel heard and welcomed. Innovation and new ideas need to be welcomed and the refrain “we’ve tried that before and it doesn’t work” needs to be retired.
Mission / Vision / Values
The focus of the existing mission statement is the OTTA is “dedicated to enhancing the quality of life.” While certainly something everyone supports, it does not address what or how to do it. After lots of work reviewing and cataloguing phrases from other mission statement, and much discussion, here is the most recent draft prepared in late January:
Mission Vision Values
Note: The OTTA did not previously have a written vision or values.
For More Information
Please feel free to reach out to me or any of the Officers/Directors by emailing us at planning@oldtowntriangle.com.
