Guest Comment: Green Valley plan is alive and well!

As Green Valley moves into the third year of its 10-year 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan, I am pleased to report that many items recommended in the plan have already been accomplished or are moving forward at a rapid pace.

In February 2008, more than 20 community leaders met for more than three hours to review the previous year’s accomplishments and set goals for the coming year.

It is important to remember that these are the accomplishments of the entire Green Valley community. The plan did not accomplish them. The hard-working volunteers and staff of more than a dozen Green Valley organizations — and literally hundreds of citizens — made these accomplishments possible.

History

In April 2005, the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council (GVCCC) created an ad hoc committee to update the 1989 Green Valley Community Plan. I had the privilege of chairing the committee with six other dedicated Green Valley citizens. Working with the various community organizations, we developed the plan, held public hearings in the spring of 2006 and, in June 2006, the Pima County Board of Supervisors accepted the plan and it became the official 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan. The 47-page document outlined the actions the community should take to improve the life of all its citizens. The name “5:15” comes from the inception date of 2005 and the concluding date of the 10-year plan, 2015. You can see the plan at http://ww%A,.gvccc.org/community-plan.htm.

The First Year - 2006

In July 2006, GVCCC asked the ad hoc committee to undertake the task of monitoring the implementation of the plan. Out of that request, the 5:15 Community Plan Implementation Steering Committee, which I also have the privilege of chairing, was born. The Steering Committee is a citizens’ effort with representation from the entire community, not just GVCCC members.

In February 2007, the Steering Committee held its first annual Plan Review meeting with community leaders to review its first seven months of activities. That meeting resulted in an agreement on priorities for the 140 recommendations in the Plan.

The Second Year - 2007

The 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan is divided into 13 elements ranging from Communication to Volunteerism.

One of the most important recommendations to come out of the first annual Plan Review meeting was the need to implement some form of action to alleviate the perceived shortage of volunteers in Green Valley. Almost every community organization lamented the difficulty in finding and keeping volunteers for their operations.

In May 2007, the Steering Committee held a Volunteerism Summit, bringing together organizations needing volunteers with outside experts in volunteer recruitment and management. In August 2007, a Volunteerism Task Force was created to definitively address this problem.

There were many other community accomplishments beside the Volunteerism Task Force.

For example: in the Environment element, the Upper Santa Cruz Providers and Users Group (USC/PUG) has been formed to look for solutions to our coming water shortages; in the Communications element, a Community Survey was coordinated among multiple organizations, including the Town of Sahuarita; in the Public Safety element, the Green Valley Fire District will replace the Government Center Fire Station and build a new station to serve the Quail Creek area across the railroad tracks; GVCCC authorized the creation of Green Valley Tomorrow, an independent 501 (c) (3) corporation to provide low-interest loans for HOA’s and local small businesses. These are just a few of the more than 30 accomplishments realized in 2007. A list of accomplishments may be found at http://www.gvccc.org/accomplishments.htm

The Third Year - 2008

Of the 13 high priority activities that will receive attention this year, three of the most important are. the continuing efforts to ensure renewable water resources for Green Valley; the development of a mechanism to monitor state and county tax receipts to see that Green Valley gets its “fair” share of state and county tax monies returned for important local projects; and work to improve our local transit system including new routes and far better promotion of our Green Valley transit system.

The last three years have been an exciting time in Green Valley. We have seen many improvements because our community’s citizens worked to make them happen.

I believe the coming years will see even greater successes. I like to think the 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan has played a part in these activities. The steering committee is actively seeking additional members to continue to monitor the progress of the 5:15 Plan.

I know one thing for certain - the 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan is alive and well in 2008!

Jon Otto is Chair of the 5:15 Green Valley Community Plan Steering Committee - 515GVPlan(u)cox.net

The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily this newspaper’s