July 30th Meeting: DixCP Cup-A-Joe, Mission Valley 5:30
Attending: Joseph Huberman, Sam Olin, Jeana Myers, Will Hooker, and Eli Hooker
The mission statement as we left it after the last meeting was as follows:
The DixCP is dedicated to preserving the existing pastoral setting within the context of responsible urban growth. We will promote community involvement in the preservation and planning of Dorothea Dix's past and future heritage, with the its vast open spaces, significant vistas and natural habitats. The Dix Campus must remain a jewel of green in the heart of Raleigh.
Joseph had just spent the entire morning in a workshop for the Friends of Pullen Park (FPP), where they were doing exactly what we've been trying to do for Dix; i.e., formulate a mission statement and come up with goals and strategies for implementation. Joseph stated that the consultant at the FPP meeting said that a mission statement should be no longer than 18 words. So we started our meeting by re-examining our mission statement, and decided that the first sentence was really what we are all about. This didn't quite get what we wanted, which was the ability for the public to use this pastoral setting, so we added several words to the end of that sentence. It now reads:
The Dix Community Partnership (DixCP) is dedicated to preserving the existing pastoral setting of the Dorothea Dix Hospital Campus, within the context of responsible urban growth, for public use and enjoyment.
Joseph had a list of goals and strategies that served as a departure point. We then began discussing what these meant and if they were correct. We talked at length about what constituted a goal, a strategy, etc. Finally, Jeana Myers asked what our main vision was. Images of a NC Central Park were raised, and we discussed the reality of such a vision.
Further discussion was very free flowing. Sam Olin said that he could incorporate parts of this project into his entry level undergraduate studio in Landscape Architecture this Fall. We talked about the former mayor of Cincinnati's "Postcard Test Contest." He claims that if you want to test the beauty of a place, look at the postcard images that you would send 'home' if you were visiting this place). Dorothea Dix certainly has a number of these, which is why it is so significant. Sam also suggested that we needed to graphically depict what is significant about the existing site and the potential for the future of the site. All good ideas.
We ended with an attempt to be brutally concise about what we are seeking, and came up with the following:
Vision/Mission Statement: We want to incorporate a major park into the Dorothea Dix campus.
Goal: We want to garner the public and political support to enable our vision to become reality.
Strategies:
| Graphically depict the significant attributes of existing site and graphically depict the potential for the future of the site. |
| Protect the significant fields and vistas. |
| Protect the significant trees, habitats, and the watershed. |
| Increase community awareness of the potential. |
| Obtain significant public support for this vision/mission. |
| Get on the Million Acre Designation List. |
Respectfully submitted, Will Hooker