Consultants Unveil Draft Vision for Farmington's Future

Is it time to re-boot Riley Park in downtown Farmington or to look for an adaptive re-use for the Masonic Hall at Grand River and Farmington Road? 

Consultants working on the City of Farmington visioning process distilled more than 550 ideas gathered during community meetings into a draft vision they unveiled Wednesday night. The 6-point draft envisions a city that is:

• Connected
• Active
• Community-oriented
• Economically competitive
• Fiscally balanced
• Accessible and diverse 

"This is really your vision," Aaron Domini of OHM Advisors told a group of more than 30 people gathered at the Farmington Community Library downtown Farmington branch. "We just tried to capture it from what you've said to date." 

Domini said that the core values residents expressed are basically the same as those in the city's 1998 vision plan, "and you wouldn't expect that to change much." Charlie Fleetham of Project Innovations, who has facilitated the community meetings, said the city accomplished a lot of what was in the 1998 plan. 

"We're really talking about continuing the path you're on," he said.

OHM Advisors consultant Jim Houk said the market will control which businesses locate in Farmington, but residents and officials can focus on creating a more attractive community. Make the community great, he said, and "the rest of your problems will be solved." 

Residents contributed lists of more specific ideas under each general vision heading; those will all be used to create a matrix that will be presented at the next community meeting. Domini said the date and time for the meeting has not yet been set. 

To learn more about the visioning process, see related documents and find out about future meetings, follow the visioning process on the city's website and on Facebook.