Two joint projects ? one old, one new ? are the result of a year of work by the five entities involved with Leadership Clarkston.
Leadership Clarkston is a collaborative effort between the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce, Clarkston Schools, the City of the Village of Clarkston, Independence Township and Springfield Township to establish cooperation and partnership across the Clarkston area.
On March 1, those five entities formerly decided by vote exactly what shape their cooperation would take:
? The existing project will focus upon creating a uniform method of scheduling facilities and events between Clarkston Schools, Clarkston Schools Community Education, and Independence and Springfield townships parks and recreation departments.
? The new project is to create unified public access stations through Comcast so that broadcasts are consistent across the area between townships, the city and the school district.
The origins of Leadership Clarkston’s existing project began in some of the first meetings held by the group. Many members of the five participating entities voiced concern over duplication of events and resources between the parks and recreation departments and the school district’s community education.
At the March 1 meeting, Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner and Clarkston Schools Superintendent Dr. Al Roberts presented where the project currently stands.
‘I think we have good programs on both sides, in Independence and at the schools,? said Roberts. ‘What needed to be identified was what we needed to do to be better?
‘We needed a forward thinking plan of our year-long activities that includes fiscal facility planning.?
Roberts and township officials are currently working on a scheduling timeline where different deadlines are established for reserving the facilities.
Although not all the specifics are decided, the scheduling timeline would accommodate groups in the following priority: schools, community education, parks and recreation, and other groups.
Roberts commented the system is currently in use and successful in the Rochester School district.
In a round table discussion led by Chamber Director Penny Shanks, members of the five entities discussed six further actions required to reach this goal:
? make sure to involve Springfield Township within the next two weeks,
? consciously plan when and where duplication may or may not be needed between the departments,
? begin including the township libraries within 10 to 12 months,
? determine fiscal responsibility in use of the facilities within the next six months,
? and gather public feedback on the programs.
A steering committee ? comprised of Mike Turk, director of Independence Twp. Parks and Recreation; Kelly Hyer, recreation supervisor of Independence Twp. Parks and Recreation; Marilyn Allen, head of Clarkston Schools Community Education; Dave Reschke, deputy superintendent for Clarkston Schools; and Lisa Molone, head of Springfield Twp. Parks and Recreation ? was assigned to complete many of the above actions.
Many of those attending the March 1 meeting felt the group’s new project could be completed quickly.
‘We feel that this can not only start, but be completed with contract in four months,? said Kristy Ottman, Clarkston City Council member, ‘barring Comcast does not stop us in our tracks.?
Ottman said many of the five entities participating in Leadership Clarkston do not currently have active public access contracts with Comcast, making the time to negotiate prime. She also said the main difficulty at the moment is that no one in Springfield Township receives school event and news broadcasts and no one in Independence knows what is happening in Springfield Township.
After large group discussion, members of Leadership Clarkston decided to not only pursue joint public access channels, but also to expand the project to include utilizing a community-wide method of communication.
Two additional options considered by those present for the new project included sharing resources between the entities and participating in joint purchasing. Sharing resources focused upon available land resources and the many projects possible for land conservation. Joint purchasing focused on joining together to buy in bulk, joining together possible labor forces and finding ways to jointly cut costs for items such as health care or phones.
After a small group discussion session, many participants felt the two additional options would be better considered at a future time.
At the conclusion of the March 1 meeting, Leadership Clarkston participants agreed to allow the various steering committees to begin work on the two selected projects.