The treasures are three carefully selected projects, which the conference committees hope will improve the town for families and the economy.
The three projects are:
The hiring of an economic development manager to promote expansion of existing businesses and industry and attract new businesses and industry, and create an economic development office.
To fund and build a multi-purpose complex which would include a library, swimming pool, health and fitness center, auditorium and meeting rooms.
Development of a master land-use plan that would solve congestion and safety problems on city streets and highways. The plan includes an expressway around the city to improve traffic on U.S. Highway 59.
The committee leaders plan to present the proposals to the Sallisaw Board of City Commissioners at their meeting Monday. They are Buddy and Dwight Spencer on the economic development committee; Shannon Vann and Debbie Knoke on the multi-purpose facility committee; and Gary Winton and Jeff Mayo on the master land-use plan and transportation improvement committee.
The plans were developed with the assistance of the Oklahoma Center for Rural Development at Northeastern State University (NSU) in Tahlequah. Julie Ferguson, Sallisaw grants administrator, is the liaison between the center and the city.
She said the Sallisaw Search Conference was organized to determine what long- and short-term goals would most benefit Sallisaw residents.
Jim Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor of management in the NSU College of Business and Industry, is conference team leader. He said Sallisaw is the first community to do a search conference sponsored by the center.
"The search conference produced a comprehensive and detailed action plan for specific objectives over the next three years," He said. He explained the conference is a planning method through which community participants decide the most desirable future for their community, devise a plan for that future, then carry it out themselves.
Phillips said the search conference works well for communities such as Sallisaw, whose citizens want to resolve complex social issues such as the environment, education and social services to build a better future.
Sallisaw is one of several communities and areas which participated in a grant application to the federal government seeking funds for improvements. As a result of that application, the area received funding for the Oklahoma Center for Rural Development.
Ferguson said the center is funded through both state and federal funds, and the city is a contributing partner in the cost of the search conference.
Adam Colclasure, conference team member and NSU graduate student, said, "Sallisaw was the most-ready community to conduct a search conference. Residents completed the Sallisaw 2000 plan and knew what it takes to put a comprehensive plant together. We knew people in Sallisaw wanted to come back together and do more."
He explained the search conference method of community improvement was created by two Australians, and is now used in partnership with industry giants such as Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, the federal judiciary and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Phillips said, "The search conference will probably be part of a case study submitted to a journal or book because this is the first time someone has worked with a community on all issues using the search conference model that meets weekly instead of for a full weekend."
He added, "People who conduct search conferences and academia are watching for the outcome."
Vann said the search conference "helped us try to realize what the citizens want for the future and helped devise goals for the city staff that they can try to accomplish in the next five years. We may not see any physical changes in five years, but hopefully we can lay the groundwork for the future of all three projects."
