The Grand Vision
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The Grand Vision & Wexford

Grand Vision consultants John Fergonese and Robert Grow discuss how the scenarios for growth impact Wexford County. Don't forget to fill out your scorecard before October 28th, 2008.

Grand Vision Champions video

A few members of The Grand Vision Champions group explain why the effort is important to the region and why their organizations support The Grand Vision.

(view on YouTube)

The Grand Vision and Kalkaska

Grand Vision consultants John Fregonese and Robert Grow discuss how the scenarios for growth impact Kalkaska County. We will be posting their analysis for each county after each county's kickoff event.

Fill out your Grand Vision Scorecard!

The goal of The Grand Vision is to involve as many people as possible in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford counties in filling our their Scorecard and helping to decide how our region should grow. Get your scorecard at:

thegrandvision.org/scorecard

Use the link below to share this with your family, friends and co-workers through email and other means!

Grand Vision takes off!

An article from yesterday's Traverse City Record Eagle begins:

For about a year, area residents have weighed in on what they want their communities to look like years down the road.

Organizers of a regional planning process hope they don't stop now.

Four possible scenarios will be unveiled this week as part of the Grand Vision project, a $1.6 million transportation and land use study that uses community input and growth trends to plan for the future.

The article offers some nice background on the project and an idea of what is to come in the next three weeks as The Grand Vision Decision unfolds - check it out!

Photo credit: DownTown Traverse City Michigan by klc7919x

Regional Kickoff - Sold Out!

The Campaign Kickoff at the State Theatre in Traverse City on the evening of October 7th is officially sold out!

Please feel welcome to attend one of the kickoff events in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska or Wexford counties and get ready to fill out your scorecard on October 7th and help choose the way that we want our region to grow!

Grand Vision Update: October 1, 2008

The Grand Vision
We'll post the latest updates about how The Grand Vision is going on this page. You can also keep up with The Grand Vision through our email newsletter and our News Page.

Dear Grand Vision friend:

The Grand Vision Decision begins next week! On Oct. 7 we will start asking friends and neighbors across our six counties to fill out a "scorecard" that will allow us to settle on a plan for how we manage growth for the next 50 years.

Vision Decision Scorecards will be widely available throughout the region and on our web site starting Oct.7. Our goal is to get literally thousands of people to fill out and return them by Oct. 28.

But we need your help to make that happen. So, to help you get in the spirit of things and learn exactly how the Grand Vision Decision will work, we're inviting you to one of our Kickoff Events. There's one in every county, and we'd love to see your face in the place!

  • Oct. 7th - Regional Kickoff at the State Theater*
  • Oct. 9th - Kalkaska High School Auditorium
  • Oct. 13th - MSU Horticultural Research Station
  • Oct. 13th - Cadillac High School
  • Oct. 14th - Shanty Creek Resort
  • Oct. 14th - Benzie Central High School Auditorium

All meetings are from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. As is our custom, we'll provide light refreshments, so come early and mingle!

*Please Note - Due to limited seating, you will need to reserve a free ticket if you are going to the Regional Kickoff at the State Theater. It's easy: Just call 947-3446 or stop by the box office.

The kickoffs will be informal, fun, and quite interesting. If you go, you'll be among the first to see the Vision Decision Scorecards. We'll walk you through them, the four different scenarios they outline, and how responses to them will be used to reach a Final Vision.

Better yet, there will be computerized visualizations of what the different scenarios would look like in real places in our region-so it's not just looking at more maps!

And we will tell you more about the results of the scientific survey of the region's residents that the respected Lou Harris poll conducted. It revealed some surprising things about the values we share as a community, and why we live here.

The information at each event will be exactly the same. There is no need to travel to Traverse City for the regional kickoff if you can attend your county event.

Scorecards will also be available online starting on October 7! Or you could call, toll-free, 1-866-441-5214 and get one by mail. They will also be available for pickup and drop off at hundreds of locations around the region.

The more people from all walks of life, locales, and points of view who weigh in on the Grand Vision Decision, the more powerful and effective this wide-open, unprecedented, community-based project becomes. Please attend a kickoff if you can, please bring a few friends-especially the skeptical ones!-and let's make this thing as Grand as we can!

Thanks so much. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Grand Vision Team

Free Tickets to The Grand Vision Decision Kickoff Now Available

NOTE: THE REGIONAL KICKOFF IS NOW SOLD OUT!

(Traverse City, Michigan) - Due to the overwhelming interest shown in The Grand Vision, leaders of the land use and transportation project are asking citizens to request tickets if they plan to attend "The Grand Vision Decision Regional Kickoff" event next Tuesday evening, October 7 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the State Theatre in Traverse City (233 E. Front Street). The event will feature a presentation of four community-driven scenarios for accommodating the inevitable growth in the region over the next 50 years, a question-and-answer period, and the opportunity to be among the first people to fill-out The Grand Vision Decision Scorecard - rating characteristics of each growth scenario.

Free tickets to the regional kickoff event, open to all citizens in the six-county area (Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford), are available by phone: (231) 947-3446, by sending an email to tickets@traversecityfilmfestival.org with "Grand Vision" in the subject line, or by visiting the State Theatre box office to pickup tickets.

"Since everyone throughout the six counties is invited to attend the regional kickoff, we don't want to have someone make the trip and not be able to get in," said Marsha Smith, Chairperson of the Public Involvement Committee for The Grand Vision. "Ticketing will assure people a seat at what promises to be an interesting and memorable event. Although the topic of growth is serious, this event should be quite fun.

"We're especially grateful to Michael Moore and the State Theatre for helping us conduct this kickoff event at their place and the ticketing help they are providing," added Smith.

Individual county kickoff events are also scheduled, where attendees will be greeted with live, local music. The county events will review the same growth scenarios that will be presented at the regional kickoff meeting.

Click for the list of county distribution/collection locations.

What do YOU think about growth in Northwest Michigan?

Here's a collection of videos showing what people in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford counties feel about growth. Watch below or in high-quality on YouTube.

Grand Vision Decision "Scorecard" Sites

Click here for the Online Grand Vision Scorecard!

From October 7 - October 28, residents in the counties of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Wexford will be asked to fill out a "scorecard" and rate characteristics of several possible future growth scenarios for the region. Called "The Grand Vision Decision," this is the next step in The Grand Vision process that began last year to shape the land use and transportation direction for the six-county region over the next 50 years.

While the scorecards will be available to fill-out online, they will also be printed and distributed throughout the six counties at convenient locations. You may also call toll-free (866) 441-5214 to have a scorecard mailed to you! The completed printed scorecards can be dropped-off at selected sites or mailed-in.

Below are the county distribution/collection locations.

Antrim Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Ellsworth Farmers Exchange-Ellsworth
  • Ellsworth Farmers Exchange-Mancelona
  • Glen's Market - Mancelona
  • Glen's Market - Bellaire
  • Gilroys Hardware Store-Elk Rapids
  • Alden Lumber - Alden
  • Central Food Center - Central Lake
  • Higgins Store - Alden
  • Java Jones - Elk Rapids
  • County Building - Bellaire
  • L & R True Value Hardware - Bellaire

Benzie Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Government Center
  • Shop-n-Save
  • Glen's Market - Frankfort
  • Chamber Building - Benzonia
  • Chamber Building - Frankfort
  • Crystal Mountain Resort
  • Lake Ann Grocery
  • Copemish Market
  • East Shore Market - Beulah
  • Honor Family Market

Grand Traverse Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Fieldstone Deli - Long Lake
  • Ric's Food Center - Interlochen
  • Governmental Center -Traverse City
  • Chamber of Commerce - Traverse City
  • Fife Lake Village Market
  • Meijer - Traverse City
  • Oleson's Food Store - Traverse City
  • Tom's Food Market - Acme
  • Tom's Food Market – West Bay
  • Tom's Food Market - East Bay
  • Northland Foods - Kingsley
  • Osterlin Library - NMC
  • BATA Transfer Station - Traverse City
  • Grand Traverse Mall
  • Traverse Area District Library

Kalkaska Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Governmental Center – Kalkaska
  • Village of Kalkaska
  • Kalkaska Memorial Hospital
  • Shetler's Dairy Farm Store - Kalkaska
  • Kalkaska Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Glen's Market - Kalkaska
  • Northland Food and Family Center
  • Save-a-Lot
  • Kalkaska Library
  • Kaliseum

Leelanau Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Government Center
  • Tom's Market - Northport
  • Tom's West Bay - Greilickville
  • Deering's Market - Empire
  • NJ's Market - Lake Leelanau
  • Andersons IGA - Glen Arbor
  • MC Shortstop - Maple City
  • Bahles - Suttons Bay
  • Silvertree Deli - Suttons Bay
  • Cedar City Market
  • Leland Mercantile

Wexford Distribution/Collection Locations

  • Cadillac City Government Building
  • Wexford Public Library - Cadillac
  • Manton City Office
  • Ellen's Corners - Mesick
  • Glen's Market - Cadillac
  • Little Caesars - Cadillac