The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — A woman who has been a Yampa Valley local all her life has been charged with directing an intensely local project.

Hayden resident and Steam­boat Springs native Tammie Bow­es Delaney has been named project manager for Vision 2030. It is a $154,000 endeavor that during the next two years will create a set of value-oriented guidelines for future governance of the Yampa Valley.

In 1994, a citizen committee created a compilation of public policy recommendations through a process called Vision 2020. Those recommendations led to numerous regional collaborations, such as First Impressions of Routt County, the Routt County Open Lands Plan and Yampa Valley Recycles. The recommendations also provided a basis for grant applications that have brought thousands of dollars to Routt County.

Delaney said Wednesday that while Vision 2030 is a natural extension of the original process, it also is an entirely new project of its own. Delaney and the Vision 2030 committee are inviting “anyone and everyone” to express their views on “what constitutes the heart and soul of this valley” at public gatherings to be held across Routt County in coming months.

“To me, the ideal is that this becomes a collective vision, of all residents,” Delaney said. “It’s not just about the usual suspects, or the same voices we’re used to hearing.”

Dan Strnad, finance director for Routt County, said the county will administer the project. Routt County and the city of Steamboat Springs are contributing $38,500 each to Vision 2030 this year, and will contribute the same amount in 2008. The committee expects to have recommendations prepared by the end of 2009.

“Once crucial elements of the valley’s heart and soul are lost, they can never be brought back,” said North Routt resident Fred Wolf, a member of the Vision 2020 and 2030 committees. “One outcome may be to incorporate the findings and recommendations of Vision 2030 into our local policy and decision making. The Vision 2020 report was a guide; this new report could become the compass for future decision makers and citizens.”

A graduate of the Steamboat Springs High School class of 1983, Delaney has lived with her family on a Hayden ranch for the past 13 years. As a project management consultant and facilitator, Delaney has worked with numerous organizations including Yampa Valley Partners, LIFT-UP of Routt County, the city of Steamboat Springs, Partners in Routt County, Yampatika, Comunidad Integrada, First Impressions and the Community Agriculture Alliance.

She also has volunteered with community groups in Hayden and across the county.

“The Yampa Valley is such an integral part of my life and family, and I know it is the same for my friends, neighbors, and fellow community members,” Delaney said. “I look forward to serving the Citizens Committee in joining efforts with others who love Routt County to ensure that our valley is an extraordinary place … for generations to come.”

More information on the Vision 2030 effort, and a link to the Vision 2020 recommendations, can be found on the Web at www.yampavalley.info/vision2030.asp.

— To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com