Have you ever wanted to share positive ideas for progress in Greeneville?

You'll have a chance on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in a workshop on the new "20/20 Vision: Realizing Greeneville's Potential."

The workshop, scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. at the General Morgan Inn, has been scheduled as a follow-up to the Strategic Planning Session of the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen held in September.

The board will meet immediately before the workshop, at 3:30 p.m., to adopt a new mission statement for Greeneville.

City Administrator Todd Smith said that Greeneville's "20/20 Vision" has a dual meaning -- getting a perfect ("20/20" in the technical, optometric sense of the term) idea, or vision, of where Greeneville should be by the year 2020.

"The Board of Mayor and Aldermen had the opportunity to put some thoughts on paper, and this workshop will be an opportunity for the public to give input on where the town goes in the next eight years," Smith said.

The workshop on Nov. 7 will include five facilitators whom Smith described as highly visible and very participatory.

Each facilitator will lead discussion on one of five "strategies" identified in the overall "20/20 Vision" concept.

The first strategy in "20/20 Vision" is Downtown Revitalization, with the following four sub-categories:

* Enhance retail, residential, and entrepreneurial opportunities downtown.

* Support the Walters State Community College expansion project downtown.

* Identify events that bring customers downtown on a periodic basis.

* Develop long-range land use plans maximizing the business, residential, and educational potential downtown.

The second strategy is to Maximize Organizational Effectiveness, with six sub-categories:

* Revise Town ordinances and Charter to allow for improved efficiencies.

* Ensure the Town maintains an effective website and other communication tools.

* Develop budget strategies that anticipate future challenges and opportunities to include capital projects.

* Look at the structure of Town departments, joint ventures, and utility partners to strengthen service delivery and reduce costs.

* Focus on customer service.

* Identify a process to capture additional grant opportunities.

The third strategy is to Promote a Healthy Greeneville, with three sub-categories:

* Complete a community health assessment.

* Work with healthcare providers to maximize the delivery of health services, and identify gaps in the existing services provided in Greeneville.

* Develop a plan to enhance sports/outdoor activities in Greeneville.

The fourth strategy is to prepare Greeneville's infrastructure for tomorrow's development, with four sub-categories:

* Identify long-range capital infrastructure needs -- develop capital budget.

* Identify potential revenue options for capital improvements.

* Develop a replacement plan for existing utility infrastructure.

* Create a plan to bridge technology infrastructure gaps.

The fifth strategy is to keep Greeneville's educational system at the front, with two sub-categories:

* Secure a long-range facilities plan to include funding options.

* Identify industry needs for technical workforce skills -- work with Walters State Community College, Tusculum College, and the Greene Technology Center to meet industry needs.

Smith said the Nov. 7 workshop is the kickoff to an ongoing process to implement these strategies.

The next steps in Greeneville's "20/20" Vision include the development of a working group and action plan for each of the five strategies, with periodic reports made to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Mayor W.T. Daniels said everyone is welcome to attend the workshop to discuss the five strategies.

"We're trying to accomplish a clear vision for the future by looking at different aspects of Greeneville," Daniels said.

Smith added that the board will look at what's best for the entire community and talk about "practical, real solutions to move Greeneville forward."