COEUR d'ALENE - Put your money, as they say, where your mouth is.

Stakeholders looking to begin the process of outlining a long range plan on how the community should grow could be ready to ante up to prove they're serious about the project.

Two dozen professional, civic and education leaders said Tuesday they would like to build off the 'Vision 2030' idea by turning what has only been discussion into a tangible steering committee, with a tentative budget to boot.

"I think the next step, to be blunt, is to raise money," said Mike Gridley, city attorney who pitched the idea in February to gauge whether the community would be willing to come together to draw up a long and short-range plan on what should and shouldn't be emphasized as the region grows. "What that looks like, I don't know."

In February, the city helped bring in planner Steven Ames to determine what the interest for such a plan was at the local level. After four presentations, hundreds of community members gave feedback on what they would like to see in the area's future.

Ames, a long-range strategic planner who has conducted around 60 sessions for public agencies across the Northwest, Australia, and New Zealand over the last 15 years, was back in Coeur d'Alene Tuesday to detail some of that feedback over breakfast with stakeholders.

The feedback said people would like to see a region-wide plan, with short and long-term goals spreading across recreation, business to education, but it wants to include all walks of life, not just from sectors which commonly participate in civic-minded functions.

"Quite a laundry list," Ames called it. "It's big and it's ambitious."

Turning suggestions into a plan requires action. To do that, a 30-community advisory committee should be formed from across the community. That group will identify the sources of a tentative $150,400 budget to pay for related expenses, such as hiring a project coordinator for $42,000, an administrative assistant for $10,400 and a professional consultant, likely Ames, for a 15-month contract at $50,000 to guide the community through the process.

While it could be up for bigger organizations, like the city, Lake City Development Corp. or Kootenai Health to pitch in the initial costs, the project should involve everyone that it can to give it a community feel, stakeholders said.

Don't just rely on familiar names. Raising funds from businesses would give it a "peer to peer" connection where everyone is interested in its outcome, said Charlie Miller, director of the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation.

John Stone, Riverstone developer, agreed.

"If you can go out and really get invested in it, it's really going to be successful," he said. "But we have to get more people involved."

Branching out could mean tapping high school-aged students to help. What would the next generation like to see?

"I think that would be a huge outcome of this process," said Craig Sumey, representing First Presbyterian church, on getting young adults involved. "I have a 17-year-old son. I'd love him to stay ... I know this town has had its difficulties with that."

The idea also comes on the heels of The Cd'A 2020 visioning project that began in 2000. That plan outlined recreational opportunities, improved infrastructure and educational opportunities as goals. McEuen Park, the educational corridor and Kroc Center are recent examples of some of those achievements.

For more information, contact Gridley at mgridely@cdaid.org or 769-2330.