Their work is almost done.

By April or May, the efforts of hundreds of Manitou Springs residents will be reflected in a document that addresses the best of the community’s hopes and aspirations.

“It’s not only that we’re shaping a future for ourselves, but we’re also leaving a legacy for future generations,” said David Chorpenning, chairman of Manitou Springs Forward (MSF), a citizens’ group formed more than a year ago.

The group’s goal is to create a document that updates and supersedes the city’s 2000 Rainbow Vision Plan, a set of guidelines designed to help with community decision-making that was created 17 years ago. To achieve that end, MSF has been conducting meetings and workshops that have attracted a broad cross-section of city and area residents. In all, more than 500 people have contributed their ideas and time to the new Vision Plan effort, Chorpenning said.

The latest meeting was a three-hour gathering at City Hall last Saturday morning. The next is scheduled for Feb. 4. After that, MSF organizers plan to compile the Vision Plan and submit it to City Council for approval.

The challenge facing the 80 people attending last Saturday’s meeting involved condensing and distilling a massive amount of data collected at previous meetings, workshops and surveys into concise, accurate statements.

“As you’re doing your work, try to imagine the faces of those people,” Chorpenning told the group, referring to the people who volunteered their time and energy to the Vision Plan effort during the preceding year, “and try to represent their voices in the statements you’re going to be writing today.”

The methodology used by MSF is known as Appreciative Inquiry, and it involves identifying the assets, strengths and values of a community in order to develop a strategy for planning the future.

Working in groups of six to eight people, Saturday’s participants sorted through information relating to 10 categories, designated as Key Vision Areas — public services, health and wellness, education, natural environment, built environment, economic development, transportation, arts and culture, community engagement and historic preservation.

Each group was asked to come up with a “stretch” statement that best summed up all the assets, strengths and community values that had previously been identified relating to their respective area. They were also instructed to “think big” and to consider all possibilities and goals “even though the resources needed to make the vision a reality may not be readily apparent.”

Participants in the education group, for example, summed up their data with the statement: Manitou Springs is a community that welcomes and nurtures all people to embrace life-long learning of the mind, body and spirit.

Some of the other vision statements:

— Manitou Springs is your destination for health, healing, wellness, spirituality and joy.

— Manitou Springs will become a renowned arts destination, utilizing its unique assets to experience, create and educate for the life enrichment of all.

—Manitou is a model collaborative community for environmental, cultural and economic sustainability. It is an exemplary steward of its heritage and natural beauty, and Manitou Springs is a world-class destination for arts, culture, life-long learning and wellness.

— In Manitou Springs, change and historical restoration will dynamically coexist, including built and natural environments. We will provide all the education and all the resources for the entire community to preserve, conserve and protect the natural and built environments. Celebrate and promote Manitou Springs, all of its culture and all of its history, in creative and cutting-edge ways.

— The city should create a comprehensive parking and management system that integrates alternative and innovative modes and promotes a sustainable transportation network for visitors and residents alike while embracing the culture and history of Manitou.

— Manitou recognizes that our natural environment has intrinsic worth and provides the foundation for our quality of life. All Manitou Springs citizens will act as stewards of the natural environment for current and future generations.

MSF Forward organizers noted that Saturday’s meeting relied heavily on the input of visionaries; the “actionaries” will move into the spotlight Feb. 4 when the group explores possible courses of actions to make the vision statements happen.

“Most of us here are a blend of both (visionaries and actionaries),” Chorpenning told the group. “And that’s why we’re here.

“Both are important to the success of the community.”

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