Council hears Community Heart & Soul presentation, weighs seed grant and staff time

The council heard a Community Heart & Soul presentation describing a resident-led visioning and planning process designed to gather community stories, convert them into prioritized goals, and produce ongoing stewardship structures. The consultant said the program offers a seed grant (about $10,000) for communities that complete an initial getting-started phase and provides coaching; other project coordination and outreach expenses would require local match and staff or a nonprofit project manager.

Councilors asked how the program would coordinate with the city's branding and 50-year plan work. City Manager Ben Bergener said Heart & Soul could inform branding by generating community-driven vision statements and that the program's coaching grant would reduce consultant costs. Councilors discussed timing and staff capacity, and several members suggested considering the program as part of the council's January retreat and goal-setting discussions.

Supporters said Heart & Soul offers a method to broaden resident engagement beyond standard outreach and recommended further exploration of grant match and project-management options. No formal action was taken; council agreed to discuss the program and possible retreat/goal-setting timing and to consider potential coordination with youth engagement and other outreach efforts.