DEAR WAYNEDALE READERS
It was a pleasure to speak to the Southwest Area Partnership as part of my yearly Report to the People sessions. I enjoyed the feedback and ideas presented by residents at the meeting.
At the meeting, we announced a new grassroots public campaign to engage the community in energy saving and air quality practices. The campaign will include a community involvement “Open Space” meeting. Open Space is a unique meeting format that allows participants to present their ideas and identify areas of interest in a group setting. The session is expected to result in several ideas for how individuals, families, neighborhoods, businesses, and schools can support and implement energy conservation techniques. The Open Space event will be held in April. A specific date and time will be announced in the coming weeks.
Additional activities will include working with businesses to seek voluntary pledges from them to reduce energy use. Educational programs are also part of the public outreach campaign. The goal is to develop a model of public engagement and action that can be shared and implemented across the country. A substantial and sustainable effort to engage the community was a key recommendation from the Green Ribbon Commission that recently developed a comprehensive energy and clean air plan for the community.
John Steinbach with JP Consultants, Inc. of Fort Wayne will assist the City with the campaign. Steinbach works with businesses and organizations on civic engagement projects and is passionate about energy and environmental issues. Steinbach was trained by Al Gore, and a team of experts, at the Climate Project on climate change issues and how to engage the public. Additional information is available at www.grassrootsgreen.us.
Fort Wayne has been a leader through our Green City Initiative. We have the first-ever Energy Policy that was enacted in January. Last October, the Green Ribbon Commission issued its energy and clean air plan. The City is actively implementing several of the recommendations from the report. Fort Wayne is a leader in innovative techniques with hybrid vehicles, bio-diesel and ethanol fuels and anti-idling software.
This is a great opportunity for citizen involvement as we work to establish a model program for energy efficiency and clean air. We’re building a better city that will be able to continue to retain and gain jobs with a great quality of life.
Graham Richard
Mayor
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