HAVE INTERNET OR SILVER CREEK IDEAS? LETS HEAR THEM

The City Council last night approved a plan to create two teams to address two of the city's 2009 goals. The first is to deal with the city's website. The other is to address the Silver Creek corridor. Let's start with the website.

If you have not been to the city website - www.cityofripon.com - check it out. You will find basic information on the city, addresses and phone numbers for key officials and employees, the city's ordinances and links to related agencies and sites. I have placed the redevelopment of the website as a key goal for this year. The site can serve as the initial contact point for people moving to Ripon, business looking to relocate to Ripon, and residents looking for information. I would say our site is about 6-8 years behind the overall development of the Web. Some of the items I would like to see...
* More use of video, including copies of local meetings, unedited, and other city-related broadcasts
* A place for residents to post questions and have answers, not a blog like this one, as we see how easily it can be blogged down with comments.
* A central portal for local businesses and groups to be linked on, in addition to such items as church schedules, Little League schedules, local weather, etc.
* A page which has the city's open records documents uploaded. For example, the public would be able to view the council packets the same as the council members.
There has been some preliminary discussion about including Ripon College in the equation, which I think would be great. Now, if you are interested in taking part in this team, please let me or Steve Barg (748-4914) know. We will be aiming to put a team together in April.

Moving on to the Silver Creek corridor...We have many wonderful resources in this community, but there are so many that are underutilized, such as the Mill Pond, the Little White Schoolhouse, and the Silver Creek corridor. I have asked the Council, and they agreed, to set as a goal in 2009 the creation of a long-term plan for the development of the corridor. I do not simply mean residential or commercial development; I also mean recreational and environmental development. Some of the ideas I have thought about is:
* Creation of a walking trail along the creek. This would have to deal with property issues, but the first step is thinking about.
* Cleaning up the creek to remove the dead trees, garbage and other junk that has collected in the waterway.
* Creating a "green" belt along the corridor, which may include the purchase and demolition of some structures along the Creek.
* Developing a city park which incorporates the creek, though there are not many locations that are readily accessible.
* Working with neighboring agencies, including the Green Lake Conservancy District, to insure the cleanliness of the creek and its surrounding area so that future generations can enjoy its beauty.
What exactly is the Silver Creek corridor? It is a new term, from what I can tell, that I used last year during our Smart Growth discussions. I would define it as the Creek and the immediate surrounding area, say a tenth- to a quarter-mile on either side, from the eastern edge of the city to the western edge. I would include the Mill Pond in the equation, since the creek flows in and out of this body of water.
If you have some other ideas, or would like to expand on the ones I have thrown out, I would encourage you to get on the team and let the ideas flow. Once again, please let me know - arkramer@charter.net or 920-291-5250 - or Steve Barg (748-4914)