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Navarre and Spring Park are cities” <br />We have it made- Orono is already <br />successful <br />Building blocks of community are <br />people walking on sidewalks <br />Protective of our acreage is both <br />positive and negative <br />Protective of our acreage is both <br />positive and negative <br />Sense of Neighborhood <br />Proud of trails and we should invite <br />people to use them <br /> <br />We have worked outside of the city and <br />came here and Orono was a place that <br />was too protective <br /> <br /> <br />Could you describe what your sense of place is in here in Orono? Do you have a <br />sense of pride, belonging, and being part of a community that shares <br />responsibilities and provides support through formal and informal social <br />networks? <br /> <br />Some people say that one of the important qualities of life in a small town is a <br />sense of vitality, having a direction and promoting an energy that someone <br />coming into our community could actually sense? How would you describe the <br />energy or direction that Orono presents? <br /> <br />What about our schools? Everyone who writes about quality of life in a small <br />town talks about the importance of education. So first to students present, what <br />do you think is the most important thing the school is doing for you right now? <br />And if you had the ability to change something tomorrow by just saying it, what is <br />one thing you would change in your school? <br /> <br />Parents and a middle school teacher were asked the same two questions. <br /> <br />What about civic engagement? This gathering tonight is one example of civic <br />engagement. How would you describe your engagement with the city and <br />decision making in general? <br /> <br />Here is a brief summary of what came out of this part of the conversation based <br />on the questions above. <br /> <br />Some overall “takeaways” from the first hour were that people wanted <br />connections and to feel more a part of a community. However this was difficult <br />because there is no recognized central gathering place- like a community center- <br />in Orono. Many people said they don’t identify themselves as Orono because <br />their mailing addresses list other cities like Mound, Wayzata, and Excelsior and <br />because there are even different zip codes in Orono. <br />The Digital generation group didn’t feel connected for an additional reason: <br />children who live in Orono might not attend Orono public schools because part of <br />the City is in the West Tonka School District. Everyone felt our schools are a <br />Page 24 of 30