Urbana’s Market at the Square Launches Strategic Planning Effort

Lisa Bralts, the director of the farmers' market located at Lincoln Square in Urbana, contacted me the other day with the news that the city will be holding meetings to get public input on the future of the market. I'll reprint, below, some of the details from the press release about the whole thing. If you love the Urbana farmers' market, you may want to go support this planning effort.

The City of Urbana’s Market at the Square, one of Illinois’ largest farmers’ markets, invites the public to participate in the Market’s new strategic planning initiative. The first public input session will be held Tuesday, February 23, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Urbana Civic Center, located at 108 East Water Street in downtown Urbana. The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

Market staff, along with city planning staff and a steering committee made up of Market vendors, representatives from area businesses, elected officials, and members of the public, will be conducting a strategic planning effort for the Market in the months leading up to the 2010 season. This planning exercise is designed to

• create Market mission and vision statements,
• set goals for the Market’s future, and
• give the city a blueprint from which to operate the Market for the next several years.

The public input process, scheduled to take place over the next several months, will include at least three sessions where the public will be asked to participate. The first session will include group exercises designed to get participants thinking and talking about their perceptions of the Market, whom it serves, and why it exists. The information gathered at this meeting will provide the framework for mission and vision statements and will be used to inform exercises for the second public input session, tentatively scheduled for the third week in March. A third session is tentatively scheduled for the last week of April.

“Market at the Square is huge asset for the City of Urbana and is held very dear by many of our residents,“ said Libby Tyler, city of Urbana community development director. “By undertaking a strategic plan, we can make sure that everyone can participate in developing a vision for the future of the Market.”

For more information, please contact Rebecca Bird, Planner I, at 384-2440, or rlbird@city.urbana.il.us. You may also contact Lisa Bralts, director of Market at the Square, at 384-2319, or ljbralts@city.urbana.il.us. And you can keep up on the latest Market happenings by visiting the blog for the Market at the Square.