By Taylor J. Hale 

Staff Writer

STEVENS POINT – Stevens Point city leaders are partnering with CREATE Portage County and Iowa-based Alchemy Community Transformations to form a strategic plan for Stevens Point.

Public meetings were held Aug. 5-6 to obtain feedback from the community to help shape the plan.  The meetings used real-time digital polling, allowing participants to cast their votes for questions relating to the plan via web-browsers or text, displaying the results live for viewers during the talks.

The questions asked to the public included: What is unique about Stevens Point; Before COVID-19; What was the greatest challenge facing Stevens Point; What’s missing from Stevens Point; Have you or someone you know personally struggled to find appropriate housing in Stevens Point?

Group responses will be used to help tailor a strategic plan that best fits the city.

Alchemy Vice Principal of Economic Development Alex Pearlstein noted that a strategic plan is different from a comprehensive plan. Strategic plans are a dynamic process that can help shape future projects and developments in Stevens Point.

Pearlstein said that he wants everyone to be able to give their input on the project.

“We absolutely want to make sure that whoever wants to participate in this process has the opportunity, so please reach out and let us know how you want to participate,” he explained.

If you missed the meetings, you can take an online survey to give your input on how the strategic plan should be formed. To take the survey, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/spvisionsurvey.

To watch a recording of the meetings, visit: https://www.stevenspoint.com/451/Meeting-Videos-Archives.