By Dan Linehan

Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — After putting the Greater Mankato region under the lens, Envision 2020 is getting specific.

The 115 or so participants broke into six core areas of interest Thursday, hashing out the direction that each group is headed for. Envision 2020, a public process to compose a rough draft for the not-so-distant future, is about halfway finished after its fifth meeting.

Each group, or “key performance area,” is finding its own way.

Mankato Area Public Schools Supt. Ed Waltman said he’s “worried about 2020.” Waltman pointed to data showing that the number of area students receiving free or reduced cost lunch — a poverty indicator — has risen by 75 percent in 20 years, while total enrollment has increased by only 7 percent. He also spoke about how much of an asset the community has with its primary and secondary schools.

Envision facilitator Derek Okubo described Envision 2020’s progress with a funnel metaphor: It began with broad discussion and is becoming more and more specific.

The majority of participants remained positive, sometimes choosing to reformulate negative assertions in the context of improvement.

The tentatively-named Riverside Park “potentially could be awesome,” says Jerry Pietz, while talking about riverside development. But “most of the people don’t go down (to the river),” because, frankly, there’s “no reason to go there.”

Tony Frentz, who was working on downtown development, suggested a trolly-like construction that would run among the core downtown, Old Town and hilltop areas — before acknowledging that it’s not clear who would pay.

But there was wide agreement here, like elsewhere, on mini-visions for each key performance area. The education group, for example, agreed on lifelong education as a theme, but couldn’t decide if their vision ought to fit on a bumper sticker or go into more detail.

Meanwhile, North Mankato City Administrator Wendell Sande was talking about pandemic planning while the infrastructure group was pondering the utility of cobblestone walkways (pretty, but not so good for wheelchairs).

The number of participants was somewhat down from the 150 or so at previous meetings. The “work session” title of the meeting may have been intimidating. Okubo said he expects that total to rise once plans are being formulated and people want in on the action.

Envision’s next meeting is April 20. The groups will converge and share their ideas, which could lead to more questioning, as each mini-vision is subjected to the scrutiny of every participant.