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Task Force needs to keep its focus

John Hanna, a member of the Trestle-To-Trestle Task Force, and Bob Dilks raised an interesting concern last week that we hope group members and the Warren City Council keep in mind.

During a meeting that touched on a wide range of issues from downtown hotels to a new downtown website to new events, Hanna and Dilks voiced a concern that the Trestle-To-Trestle group’s vision is beginning to get bigger than its original vision. Hanna’s concern is worth taking note of, because often times ad hoc groups start with a defined focus only to see that focus get fuzzier over time.

“I think this group as a whole does need to focus itself on what it was created to do,” Dilks said, to “impact a specific footprint… and not stray away from that.”

The Trestle-To-Trestle group’s genesis came from a specific controversy that shined a light on a host of downtown issues. There are enough issues in the downtown area that need to be solved that task force members shouldn’t need to focus their energy outside of that area.

If there is a need and community appetite for focused discussion outside of the trestle-to-trestle area, then a second group should be created to look at those issues. Creating groups, even if they are basically subcommittees of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, makes sense as long as there is interest and an appetite to advocate for solutions to what city residents see as problems.

What Hanna and Dilks know full well is a group that loses its focus is going to have a hard time following through on the work it begins — and the Trestle-to-Trestle Task Force has enough on its plate that gazing outside of its designated area could lessen the impact the group ultimately makes.

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