Thursday, May 2, 2013
Residents at a Wednesday night meeting contribute more specific ideas that will be presented at a future public meeting.
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: "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 …
Friday, March 29, 2013
Consultants leading a Wednesday visioning session urge residents to think about giving officials a final answer on a merger with Farmington Hills.
It's time to call the question of whether Farmington should merge with Farmington Hills, consultants told 50 Farmington residents gathered for a Wednesday visioning session at city hall. The long-debated move is part of a maximum growth strategy presented with other options during the 2-hour meeting. While the first visioning meeting held last month centered around big ideas, the second focused more on specific alternatives. "We really want to get a handle on where you think Farmington should go in the future," said Aaron Domini of OHM Advisors. After a review of the 1998 vision plan and current data, participants ranked their preferred rate of growth, in a range from status quo to moderate to maximum. The average answer landed between …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Residents have two opportunities to help set the course of their community's future.
Farmington and Farmington Hills residents have two opportunities this month to influence the future of their communities. On March 13, the Corridor Improvement Authorities (CIA) of Farmington Hills and Farmington will host a 5 p.m. Grand River Corridor Visioning Open House. And City of Farmington residents are invited to attend a March 27 follow-up to the Feb. 18 kick-off meeting for that city's visioning process. The CIA open house, held at Botsford Hospital Ziegler Administration and Education Building, will highlight draft findings and recommendations of a Grand River corridor study, including the vision statement and design principles for the corridor. The information was gathered from nearly 300 ideas generated through stakeholder …
42.443385
-83.324109
Botsford General Hospital
28050 Grand River Ave, Farmington Hills, MI
Ziegler Administration Center
/articles/grand-river-farmington-visioning-meeting-dates-set
1527717
/locations/8950992
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Those unable to attend the meeting at Farmington High School can still participate in the process.
Farmington Mayor Tom Buck thought maybe 30 or 40 people would turn out for Monday night first meeting for residents interested in helping create a vision for the city's future. Instead, more than 70 people filled tables in the Farmington High School cafeteria. After a brief introduction from consultants Aaron Domini of OHM Advisors and Charlie Fleetham of Project Innovations, the room buzzed with conversation as participants exchanged ideas on topics like public spaces, reputation, community services, housing and mobility. "I was excited by the turnout," Buck said. "It sounded like some interesting ideas came out that will help push us forward to be the best Farmington we can be." Domini said consultants turned their usual visioning …
42.463426
-83.362476
Farmington High School
32000 Shiawassee Rd, Farmington, MI
/articles/more-than-70-farmington-residents-turn-out-for-first-visioning-session
705169
/locations/8836552
Monday, February 4, 2013
Residents are invited to Farmington High School Feb. 18 to share their thoughts about the city's future.
Farmington residents interested in helping to craft a vision for the city's future are invited to attend public meeting at Farmington High School on Feb. 18. Farmington Hills-based Projection Innovations will guide the process, which will begin by collecting as many ideas as possible, and then developing those into a few alternatives for final consideration. Consultant Charlie Fleetham told city officials earlier this month that at the beginning of the process, it's best to involve as many people as possible. The meeting in the school's cafeteria starts at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to last until 9 p.m.
42.463426
-83.362476
Farmington High School
32000 Shiawassee Rd, Farmington, MI
/articles/date-set-for-farmington-visioning-community-meeting
705169
/locations/8727423
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Residents recommended by officials will receive invitations, but members of the public may attend the initial meeting.
A meeting for residents interested in helping craft a vision for the future of Farmington will be held later this month. During a Monday city council study session, Charlie Fleetham of Farmington Hills-based Projection Innovations took the process in a slightly different direction than officials expected. Council members anticipated appointing 15-20 members to a task force, from lists of residents they nominated. Fleetham suggested inviting everyone whose name had been submitted, as well as putting out an open invitation through the media and the city's website. He said the process he favors begins with collecting as many ideas as possible, then working those into one or two alternatives for final consideration. "We could have up to 100…
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
City officials plan to ask residents, business owners and others to help create the Farmington of the future.
Farmington city officials will consider a proposal Dec. 17 that would draw residents, business owners and even people from neighboring communities into developing a city vision plan. At a study session Monday, city manager Vince Pastue said the $29,500 proposal submitted by planning consultant OHM Advisors for the 6-month project exceeds the $25,000 budgeted. He added that funds are available to cover the additional cost. "The last time we had a vision program was in 1998, and that set the stage for the changes in the downtown area," Pastue said. "We're big believers of this," said James Houk, OHM vice president of planning, design and development. "A lot has changed over the last five years or more in southeast Michigan." Houk said …
Jim Sparks
11:08 am on Saturday, May 4, 2013
Mr. McDiarmid: I think you're reading more into what I wrote than is there. I am not "blaming the city's challenges on the failure" of these projects - I'm saying they have failed to mitigate them in any meaningful way. I understand, and agree that the state's economic situation has had significant impact on Farmington, as it has many other communities. My beef, as stated above, is with a bloated… more ›