Press release from the City of Fort Wayne:
Statement from Mayor Henry at the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the City of Fort Wayne Community Trust
(March 23, 2010) – For 35 years the Board of Trustees of the Fort Wayne Community Trust has met annually as stewards of this extraordinary community resource. Over these decades, we have come together on behalf of the people of Fort Wayne to review the state of the trust and to ensure its proper management.
This year our meeting has a unique significance, because the term of the lease on which it was founded, the lease between Indiana Michigan Power and the City, has come to an end.
Nonetheless, the City and I&M continue in their negotiations as we work to secure a fair resolution of all issues. Let me reassure you, both parties remain absolutely committed to the mediation process. We believe that progress is being made and are hopeful that a favorable outcome will be reached. No one is more dedicated to fairly settling this matter than I am.
Our team is equally pledged to honor Mediator Whiteleather’s and Judge Levine’s requests not to comment publicly about the ongoing negotiations.
Even so, as we hope for a positive resolution and begin to think about what may come, I would like to suggest a framework for how we, as a community, might address the future of this exceptional asset and the opportunities it represents.
We must always remember that the trust belongs to the people of Fort Wayne. The natural conclusion of the lease creates a common focal point for the start of a dialogue about our community’s real goals and priorities, our wants and needs, our hopes and dreams.
I believe that our citizens should have the chance to contribute their own ideas and to engage in discovering what will be the best use for these funds. Our choices must be ones we study thoughtfully and make together as a community. They will deserve the same kind of careful consideration that inspired the formation of the trust itself.
To that end, I believe that it will be essential to establish clear and insightful principles to guide our investigation. I envision a process that will be deliberative, inclusive, strategic, farsighted, reflective of the spirit of the trust, sensitive to the community’s distinct characteristics and committed to public involvement.
Throughout this process, our collective mission must be to craft wise decisions that will be beneficial for all of us, now and for generations to come – to use this treasure to strengthen our community and make it a place of pride and opportunity for all.
I’d like to explore these ideas further with all of you and then set preliminary planning in motion. Thank you.
Webmaster’s note: This post was added May, 8, 2010.
Related Images:
