Benchmark Summit brings community together
Utah State University and the Cache Valley community are combining efforts to better the quality of life in the valley.
More than 100 USU faculty, staff and students met with local political and business community leaders Friday at the first Benchmark Summit led by USU President Kermit L. Hall.
The summit was constructed to focus on three issues, Hall said, environmental sustainability, economic development and the changing demographics in the valley.
Juan Franco, USU vice president for student services, said he thought the conference went well.
“It is one of the few opportunities that we have to get people from the community and the university together to talk about issues that impact both,” he said.
Summit attendees listened to a roundtable discussion with 15 panelists faced with a hypothetical issue dealing with a fictitious corporation moving into the fictitious community of Cashmere – which shares many similarities to Cache Valley.
Panelists were comprised of various occupations and community positions to deal with specific aspects of the impact the community of Cashmere would face with the addition of an industrial company. Mayor Doug Thompson played the mayor of Cashmere and Nyle Stoddard, enterprise architect for Moore Wallace BCS, played the role of Leonard “Hardball” Blackumberg – the owner of the company who negotiates with community members to let his company relocate to Cashmere.
Communities like Logan frequently face similar issues like the hypothetical one presented at the conference, Franco said, where companies, corporations and industries are looking for a place to relocate or expand.
“This particular valley has a history of being a place people like to come because of the way it is,” Franco said. “I think a lot of people would like to maintain that and that’s why they are here.”
Blackumberg’s company brings the community of Cashmere various issues of impact due to the company’s environmental history.
Many of the scenarios reflected similar issues Cache Valley has or will face, Bobbie Coray, Cache Chamber of Commerce, said.
After the discussion, nearly all of the panelists voted to decline the Blakcumberg’s offer because of the potentially negative impacts it could have on the community.
Coray said Cache Valley faced a similar situation 1984 with the idea of the valley maintaining a site for a state prison.
However, after a strategic planning meeting, Coray said, the community decided it did not want to have the prison in Cache Valley because it would decrease the quality of life.
Coray encouraged the Summit attendees to realize the resources the valley has, such as clean air, water and open space.
“There is no buck without clean air, clean water and open space,” she said.
Hall said he was impressed with the turnout of community members to the summit and how diverse the community is in Cache Valley.
Les Essig, Associated Students of USU president, said the conference dealt with issues pertinent to the community.
The organization of the conference handled the sensitivity of the topics appropriately, he said.
“It is really good for the community as a whole, to really grow and work together [with the university] on the issues that are in front of us,” he said. “I think it is a perfect scenario to deal with very sensitive issues, because it is in an acting scenario. It sets up a perfect way to accomplish or get your point across while at the same time keeping in a well-maintained manner.”
The structure of the hypothetical scenario was intentional to create a more comfortable discussion among the attendees about serious issues, Hall said.
“The value of using this semi-Socratic method and using a hypothetical, but one that anticipates or presumes some of the same issues that may exist in the community it allows people to speak probably with a little more openness then would otherwise be the case,” Hall said.
Jay Price, a panelist member that represented student concerns, said he wasn’t sure of what to expect at the summit and had developed negative attitudes toward the event because he didn’t know if anything would be accomplished.
“I think one of the coolest things is people are getting together,” Price said, “maybe it is under the pretense of ‘maybe we should get together and talk about these issues,’ but it’s gotta start somewhere.”
After participating in the panel discussion over the future of Cashmere, Price said he thought the structure of the discussion was beneficial because it prevented people from being offended or directly dealing with issues facing Logan – which may have caused more hesitancy for discussion.
“I think a lot of people fear directness, in all honesty,” he said. “I see this as a really positive starting point, it may not lead to saving the world, but I think it will help because people are starting to make connections”
This is what is happening in Logan, Price said, and what the community has to face.
“The growth in the community has gone awry, it’s sprawling, and that’s not a good idea,” he said. “We need to keep the open spaces out there and I hope people have gone ‘wow, you know what, maybe this Cashmere place isn’t so far from home after all.'”
-kcashton@cc.usu.edu