AG 2003 03 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the ( :¢nrr, d 2002 Accomplishments / 2003 Objectives The first official Board of I}irectors convened in February 2002 (list attached). The board is made up of representatives .f~m each one of the 14-county region, with a maximum of 36 members. Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation were finalized and approved. The board meets quarterly, has formed comml~ ecs and held its first (annual) board retreat in September. The board retreat was used as a s~ategic planning session where the board reached consensus on a work plan for the next year ahd refined the mission. The Quality of Life InitiatiSe culminated in May with the passage 17 county/city resolutions. These resolutions are a written commitment by the elected leaders demonstrating their acknowledgement and accep|ance of responsibility to protect the factors identified to preserve quality of life in their commL~nity. Future steps would be to enact specific legislation that relates to the resolutions. With the ~solutions in place, Voices & Choices and other entities can refer to these commitments to help Maintain momentum and strategy. Spring of 2002 was a benchn~ark for the 2001 Open Space Vision Map - conclusion &Phase I of the Open Space Framewo .t~. In March, a final synthesis workshop was held to unveil the Vision Map to the participat~g stakeholders in the region. It was held at UNCC in conjunction with the Open Space Institutd, and attracted over 180 attendees. In April, the map was unveiled to the public and media at a s~ecial event called the Green Gala. The Gala was actually a 2-day event beginning with a semi-~'ormal dinner/dance and followed the next day with an outdoor activity such as skeet-shootiffg, canoeing or fly-fishing. Fall of 2002 concludes deliv ':~ of the Open Space Framework document and associated GIS - data layers and maps. Cowry officials and planners will receive a bound copy of the framework and a set of CD's~containing the GIS information by year-end. Voices & Choices is meeting with each county/m _c{nicipality on an individual basis to discuss how the framework can be integrated with current plaiming and projects. These visits will conclude Phase II of the Open Space Project. ~ Duke Energy approached Voices & Choices in August to create and facilitate a Regional Drought Summit. The mee~ng was held in the midst of the crisis, while no solutions were finalized, the meeting did su~eed in setting the stage for continued efforts to increase cooperation and identifying tlie, need to formalize an emergency plan across state and county lines. ! A new program, the Urban ~pen Space Awards was held in October. These awards, voted upon by citizen committees ate granted to sponsors/owners of urban green spaces in the region that significantly and positiv~y impact the quality of life of their respective communities. This first round of awards recognized urban spaces in Charlotte, Rock Hill, Salisbury and Hickory. The program was sponsored I~y Wachovia Bard5 and each community included a committee of