Wisdom Council 'experiment' #2 in Pleasantville NY
Letter from Jim Rough, Dynamic Facilitator
Hi all,
This weekend was the second meeting of the Pleasantville "Great Oak Council." It was an exhilarating two days for me, facilitating and watching this group of nine randomly selected people, who could've been from central casting, reach wise, unanimous conclusions. There were two freshmen from the high school, three women and four men. One of the women was eighty something, a former librarian. There were professional people and blue collar and, well I don't really know all their details, but they were all over the map.
Nancy Rosanoff, local consultant, author and community-access television host, was the convener of this Wisdom Council experiment. She began it a year ago and facilitated that first Council meeting, where the group reported their findings to the newspapers. This year, I was able to come and dynamically facilitate. The group met for four hours on Saturday, from 4 to 8, with a break for dinner (Dinner was donated by one of last years Council members.) Then the group met from 1 to 5 on Sunday with the last half-hour being a presentation in front of the local television cameras and the town trustees. The presentation was GREAT!! I think the trustees were blown away by how thoughtful it was. I don't have the final notes with me as I write this but the basic message was:
"We need to have more pride in Pleasantville". i.e. we can't just be a bedroom community.
They had three subheadings:
1) We need to set up a community infrastructure ... especially to separate New York City commuter parking from downtown parking .and to redirect the traffic trying to go through the town -- and they had a design for how to do it. One key was to create a parking garage for commuters and to try to get the railroad to pay for it, and to earn money from it. Also, there were exciting proposals to institute a round the town "trolley-bus" to alleviate all kinds of parking issues, specific locations for added trash cans to cut down on litter, and suggested "pocket parks", There was an architect observing the session who had a breakthrough insight while watching, holding himself back from telling people. (The Wisdom Council is only supposed to be those who are selected.) His idea was to move the train station a few blocks away. Immediately after the presentation, when the trustees heard about it, they exploded with excitement.
2) We need to create community spirit, especially by establishing a real center to the town ... Since there is no real center of town, the group had a bunch of ideas to make one. They wanted to set up awnings, and lighting, and a committee to encourage more diverse kinds of downtown businesses. One of the great insights was to encourage more walking around town by issuing walking credits, which local people could use to pay parking fines.
3) Youth should be a priority. The group created a design for a new community activity center in an old abandoned building. They also described ideas for funding. They also suggested a weekend bus for youth to be able to go to the movies, and to clean up some of the parks.
The Great Oak Council is the first ongoing Wisdom Council experiment for a town. More than a year ago Nancy convinced the Town Trustees to bless this three year experiment, funded and supported exclusively by her. It's an "un-mandated" Wisdom Council, which means that it doesn't have the official charter from the people to, in the eyes of all the citizens, be "We the People". Neither does it yet have the attention of most citizens. But all that is changing fast, especially with this incredibly positive and public experience. Nancy has seen the vision and it is becoming manifest.
The Great Oak Council is starting to reverberate its presence not only in the town, but in neighboring towns, and in other communities. The television production by Pleasantville TV was a professional "shoot" and after editing, we should all have an opportunity to see it soon; Chuck Napoli, a representative of Rotary International, observed the entire process and was enthused. He wants to make Wisdom Councils something Rotary International can sponsor to communities in general. He has arranged for me to talk to six of the local presidents tomorrow. Also, of course, those of us excited by the prospects of Wisdom Councils everywhere will continue to refer to and draw from the Pleasantville demonstration as a model.
Congratulations to Nancy!
Jim
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