BROOKINGS How people perceive others plays a crucial role when it comes to things such as school, work or just living life in general and that adage also applies to communities taking part in the new First Impressions program, such as Brookings and Aberdeen.
Were really excited to be part of the inaugural First Impressions program in the state of South Dakota, Visit Brookings Executive Director Laura Schoen Carbonneau said at Tuesday nights City Council meeting. The closest comparison that we can use to explain what this is, is its kind of like a secret shopper program, but its across the entire community.
The program is overseen by South Dakota State University Extension and involves each community sending a group of volunteers to its sister community to assess their partners strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of someone whos never been there before.
Schoen Carbonneau said Aberdeen was chosen to serve as the sister community to Brookings because both cities share similarities, including population, manufacturing, higher education and family friendly attractions.
The effort in Brookings is being spearheaded by Visit Brookings, Downtown Brookings and the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce.
The goal is to have each volunteer group comprised of a retired couple, a young family, a single person and so on. The volunteers will receive some training as well and, ideally, wont be familiar with their destination community.
These visits will happen in the summer; that just seems to be the best time to visit both communities, Schoen Carbonneau said. You dont have to worry about weather, you can really get out and enjoy the outdoor opportunities.
The final report will be provided in the fall by SDSU Extension to city leaders and the broader community.
This tool is particularly useful because as a matter of human nature, all communities have difficulties viewing their surroundings as others customers, visitors, potential residents, and potential businesses see them, per information from SDSU Extension. Our views are skewed by over-familiarization, a lack of differing perspectives, expectations, and a reluctance to be completely honest with our neighbors when dealing with difficult issues, such as the appearance of buildings, customer service, and the maintenance of public facilities.
Schoen Carbonneau has high hopes for the program, which wont cost Brookings anything to participate in because of its inaugural nature.
We think it will definitely be a nice opportunity to just get those fresh eyes, she said. If it turns out that theres something that is maybe needing to be addressed, thats something that we can as a community take a look at and say, Huh. This is what people coming to our community think about our community. Is it something that maybe we need to address?
In other business at Tuesday nights meeting, councilors:
Learned that the School of American and Global Studies at SDSU is hosting a Religion and Values forum on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the South Dakota Art Museum, 1036 Medary Ave. The speaker will be Kristen Renwick Monroe, a political scientist whose research explores the moral courage of individuals in times of crisis. The public is invited to attend.
On a 6-0 vote, with Councilor Brianna Doran absent, approved an ordinance accepting the report from the Brookings City Charter Commission and setting an April 8 election date for submission of the proposed changes to the citys voters. Essentially, the charter is the citys equivalent of the U.S. Constitution.
Approved, on a 6-0 vote, higher rates at Edgebrook Golf Course.
Agreed to rezone 1115 W. 20th St. from Agriculture A District to Residence R-3 Apartment District, and also gave the green light to a preliminary plat for Blocks 1-4 of Prairie Sunset Addition.
Both were 6-0 votes, and are steps toward what will eventually become a large-scale residential development with 99 housing units 41 twin homes and 17 single-family homes.
The approvals came only after a residents concerns regarding water and traffic issues were addressed. Plus, there are other regulatory steps that still need to be taken, so the issue will be before the City Council again at some point.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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