The Hermiston Area Futures Task Force group has compiled and presented the results of the "Futures Community Forum" held January 17 at the Hermiston Conference Center.

Task Force members were extremely pleased with the input they received. As with prior meetings with various groups the task force has been meeting with since last summer, some themes continued to rise to the forefront, while some ideas were heard for the first time.

The Task Force, a group of about fifteen business, educational and civic leaders who agreed to help the City with the Futures conversation process, will now compile all the information it has received over the past several months. They plan to present this information to area legislators, local newspaper editorial boards and ultimately to the Mayor and City Council.

The intent is to identify those areas which need priority attention over the next ten to fifteen years if the Hermiston area is to continue to prosper, what actions may best address those priorities and how area human and financial resources may best be used to achieve our collective goals.

Area citizens who would still like to present their thoughts and ideas are encouraged to send an email to the City or write to Futures Task Force/City of Hermiston/180 NE 2nd/Hermiston, OR 97838.

Notes from the Community Forum and Dialogue with the Community, January 17th, 2012

The main themes that seemed to emerge from the ideas proposed by the nearly 100 citizen participants are as follows:

• Livability
• Resource Development
• Safety and Health
• Education
• Housing
• Economics, Business and Job Development
• Marketing the Hermiston Area

Specific ideas, concepts, suggestions and projects proposed by participants are listed under each major theme and are in order of frequency mentioned with the most often mentioned ideas noted first and the least further down the list. For example, a (4) means this topic was listed by four table groups which is approximately 25-30 people.