Come downtown tonight to see the key initiative results from thousands of peoples ideas for improving Fargo.  At 7 pm Tuesday Jan 24th, in the Fargo Commission room, you’ll see that we have strong community alignment on key initiatives voted on by thousands of participants in the GO2030 community engagement process.

These ideas came from over 2,600 people weighing in at our GO2030 Townhall Mindmixer that’s been online since June, along with ongoing input from participants in three GO2030 public input forums. The GO 2030 Townhall Mind Mixer site has recorded hundreds of ideas and generated over 50,000 hits.

Our GO 2030 facilitators BNIM tell us Fargo’s community participation in this process is extraordinary.    This facilitation group BNIM led by nationally renowned architect Bob Berkebile, won the 2011 American Institute of Architects award for best architect firm in the country.

GO2030 technical staff planners added a industry survey that received 128 responses from Chamber of Commerce and Home Builders members that also favor flood protection, improving Bike/Ped, public art, and improved design standards.

The full community key initiatives ranking is available here.

Key Initiative Guiding Principles identified through GO2030 public responses:

1. Permanent Flood Protection Water and Environment
2. Promote Infill Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
3. Public Art Arts and Culture
4. Bicycle/Pedestrian Infrastructure Transportation
5. Design Standards Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
6. City -Wide Trail Loop Health Public
7. Gathering Spaces with Arts and Culture
8. Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Production
9. Quality New Development Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
10. Year-Round Recreational Opportunities promote Health

These and many more are all areas we are working on with the community to improve to make Fargo an even more safe, attractive, interesting, vibrant, and resilient city where people want to live, learn, work, and play.

These are just a few examples and we’re already implementing many of the good ideas the community has brought forward through this Fargo GO 2030  engagement.  Here’s a few that are now implemented or underway:

Biking and transit:   We’ve connected miles of on road bike routes since last spring and are ranked among the top 50 biking communities by Bicycling Magazine and moving up fast!  MAT bus has just added two new routes and hybrid buses to our busiest route for 15 minute intervals.  MAT Bus ridership is continuing to grow serving over 2,100,000 riders in 2011!

More events downtown.  The Downtown Community Partnership organized this cool outdoor screening of “Fargo” on a beautiful summer night.  It was a blast!

Fargo art is blossoming!  There is strong support for more emphasis on public art integrated into planning and design as we grow our community.  Since May 2011, there are several public art projects that are now being created with much more to come.

Public art:  A few public projects that are incorporating expertise from artists now underway are:   the Fargo Project,  Downtown wayfinding signage, NP and 1st Ave Corridor development, also there’s a competitive call for artists to complete a portrait of Jasper B. Chapin a former mayor who some call the Father of Fargo.  

The Fargo Project

The City of Fargo is currently working on a pilot project to transform a neighborhood drainage basin into a community commons that will reflect the internal life and cultural vibrancy of the Fargo community.

Congratulations to the NDSU Bison for their 1st Division I national championship! Did you know Fargo’s getting another national #1 ranking this week too?

US News and World report ranks Fargo the top US city for finding a job.   As these fun national rankings pile up, I notice that Burlington Vermont is also at the top of many of these good city rankings, I’m going to have to visit there someday to check them out.

Here’s what US News and World report had to say about their rankings:

“Fargo, North Dakota, which sits atop our list, counts diversity as one factor that contributes to its strong job market.

“We have a strong presence in regional healthcare, with multiple hospital facilities,” says Kent Costin, Fargo’s city director of finance. In addition, he says, Fargo is “a strong regional retail center, as well as kind of a regional economic hub for other forms of wholesale distribution.”

Education is another factor in job stability. This refers not only to individual workers’ education levels, but also to the presence of educational institutions. Colleges and universities can provide large, relatively stable job pools to a metro area. Costin counts North Dakota State University and Concordia College as two key employers in the Fargo metropolitan area. Likewise, the University of Michigan and University of Michigan Medical Center are the two top employers in Ann Arbor, and the University of Minnesota is one of the Twin Cities’ top employers.

Among U.S. metropolitan areas with 200,000 people or more, here are the 10 best cities for finding a job:

Metro Area Unemployment Rate, Nov. 2011 Y-Y Change

1. Fargo, N.D. 3.1 -0.5

2. Lincoln, Neb. 3.2 -0.4

3. Burlington-South Burlington, Vt. 3.7 -1

4. Sioux Falls, S.D. 3.8 -0.8

5. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa 4.1 -0.5

6. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La. 4.5 -0.8

7. Ann Arbor, Mich. 5.2 -1.7

8. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. 5.1 -1.5

9. Charlottesville, Va. 4.6 -0.7

10. Provo-Orem, Utah 5.4 -1.8

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau (population counts).

~ End article~

As nice as these rankings are, and knowing that we have a lot going for us due to the good work of many, we have much work to do to continue to improve.  One important way Fargo is doing that is by engaging our residents to share their ideas and concerns throughFargo’s GO2030 comprehensive planning that is ongoing.

The GO2030 Key Initiative rankings below are a compilation of responses from thousands of community members comments through GO2030 online Mind Mixer, public forums, and surveys.  Click this for full list

Key Initiative Guiding Principles identified through GO2030 public responses:

1. Permanent Flood Protection Water and Environment
2. Promote Infill Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
3. Public Art Arts and Culture
4. Bicycle/Pedestrian Infrastructure Transportation
5. Design Standards Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
6. City -Wide Trail Loop Health Public
7. Gathering Spaces with Arts and Culture
8. Incentives for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Production
9. Quality New Development Neighborhoods, Infill, and New Development
10. Year-Round Recreational Opportunities promote Health

These and many more are all areas we are working with the community to improve to make Fargo an even more safe, attractive, interesting, vibrant, and resilient city where people want to live, learn, work, and play.

If you haven’t joined in the fun, we’re going to continue this community outreach to hear your ideas.  We want to hear from you, sign up for GO 2030 Mind Mixer Townhall and weigh in.  We never know where the best ideas will come from, and with your help, we can make the best ideas win!