Sisters Country community leaders survey results out

Sisters Country community leaders recognize change is coming to the community but are optimistic Sisters can successfully navigate those challenges by building upon its strong assets and history of involvement and volunteerism.

Those are among the findings in a Community Interviews Report released Friday by Sisters Country Horizons, a visioning initiative sponsored by the City of Sisters, Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council. More than 80 community leaders from a variety of sectors were interviewed between mid-February and April, according to a news release.

An executive summary of the report is available on the Sisters Country Horizons website at https://sistershorizons.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Sisters-Community-Interviews-Executive-Summary-FINAL.pdf. A full report will be published early next week on the website.

The interviews were the starting point for the initiative. An online survey and community meetings, which have gathered input from residents in April and May, also are part of the outreach efforts. A report on the survey and community meetings is scheduled to be released later this month, in time for a series of community forums, the first of which is scheduled for Thursday, May 31 at Sisters High School from 5 to 8 p.m.

The outreach work has centered around a series of questions gauging what residents value most about Sisters Country and what they envision for the community in the future. The results and findings will help shape the community’s future projects and planning efforts.

During the interviews, community leaders spoke of a deep passion for Sisters Country and foresee the community moving beyond past acrimony in large part because of the “Sisters Way” — an underlying commitment to the community’s history of giving, volunteerism and appreciation of its small-town qualities.

The interviews found growing concern over traffic and housing, and a recognition that growth is inevitable but that if planned well can be beneficial through new jobs, more housing options and increased enrollment for the Sisters School District.

Community leaders are optimistic Sisters can prepare for its future by building on existing assets — outdoor recreation, a growing artist economy and tourism — rather than something entirely new. Among the most significant opportunities is the potential development of the U.S. Forest Service property within the city limits, interviewees said.

The May 31 forum at Sisters High School is the first of four that will be held through June, each one focused on a different theme. Here are the dates and themes of each forum:

May 31: Connected Sisters June 4: Prosperous Sisters June 12: Livable Sisters June 19: Resilient Sisters Input received during the forums — along with that received through the interviews, survey, and community meetings — will form the foundation of a Vision and Action Plan to be released in late 2018 or early 2019. A citizen-based Vision Action Team will be formed later this summer to steer development of the plan. Once completed, the Vision Action Plan will help guide government agencies, nonprofit groups and the private sector in planning and projects.

The plan will update and replace the original Sisters Country vision plan developed in 2007.

Sisters Country Horizons is led by the City of Sisters in partnership with Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, assisted by PSU’s Oregon’s Kitchen Table program. The project is following a values-based collaborative approach. By analyzing what residents value about their community, and where they want it to head in coming years, a community can set realistic strategies and actions to reach those goals and be confident that people who live there are supportive of these direction.

Sisters Country is defined as the School District boundary, including the City of Sisters and surrounding unincorporated communities and residential areas, ranches and farms, as well as Camp Sherman.

For more information visit the Sisters Country Horizons website at www.sistershorizons.org or email info@sistershorizons.org. You can also like the project at www.facebook.com/sistershorizons/.