Jensen Strategies began working with the City of Lebanon in 2015 to facilitate a community initiative to create the Lebanon Community Strategic Action Plan. The Plan is designed to build upon the previously adopted 2040 Vision Statement and develop steps toward making the vision a reality. The plan was created and designed to build on the values of transparency, inclusion, collaboration, and consensus building.

The core elements of the Action Plan development process included two integrated components:

(1) A citizen-led Strategic Vision Action Plan Task Force 

(2) A community/stakeholder engagement process utilizing multiple outreach tools

The Task Force was appointed by the City Council and was comprised of citizen representatives charged with developing the Strategic Action Plan based on input from the community.  The group included representatives from important organizations and interests such as higher education, healthcare, small businesses, the local school district, the senior community, arts, youth, the faith community, young professionals, downtown, community safety, banking, real estate, local utilities, and the media. It was chaired by a representative of the citizens-at-large. 

Community Outreach Process: The community/stakeholder engagement process provided the core information for the Task Force’s work. This process was used both to inform the public and other stakeholders about the project and to solicit ideas for the Strategic Action Plan. It included a multi-faceted approach to engage the public, community leaders, City Council members, and City of Lebanon staff. A variety of outreach methods were utilized including stakeholder interviews, online surveys, community workshop, project website, Facebook page, and media engagement. 

From September 2015 to April 2016, Jensen Strategies facilitated a 21-person citizen group, the Crook County Public Safety Facility Advisory Committee, formed by local community leaders charged with recommending an approach to address public safety facility needs in the county.  The membership consisted of representatives from a broad range of community interests including business, nonprofit, judicial, and faith-based.  We helped the Committee achieve the following goals: (1) develop a mission statement, objectives, and decision making criteria; (2) gather and research information and data related to Crook County public safety; and (3) facilitate the discussion and deliberations related to addressing future public safety facility needs.  The Committee worked diligently to answer the following set of questions: 

1. Are the current jail facilities adequate? If not, how many new jail beds are needed?

2. Should the County build (or renovate) a new jail facility or should it continue renting jail beds from Jefferson County?

3. If other public safety functions are co-located with the jail, what would they be and in what priority?  

4. If the County builds or renovates a new jail facility, where should the facility be located? 

The result of this intensive process led to a final recommendation report, fully supported by each committee member, that was presented to City and County elected officials during a joint hearing.