Vision quest

By MIKE RICHESON

Bigfork Eagle

Edd Blackler is no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and getting something done in Bigfork. For the better part of 40 years, Blackler has volunteered his time, energy and imagination to implement ideas that have helped shape the atmosphere of Bigfork.

Blackler now finds himself at the head of the Vision Committee, a newly-formed group with the task of both preserving what makes Bigfork great and promoting a vision to keep the Village viable for decades to come.

This past winter, when the proposal came about to build a new library where Potoczny Field is located, numerous local organizations began expressing interest in the land due to growth and the need for expansion.

The fire department was interested in building a new hall, Bigfork Water and Sewer needs to expand and volunteer committees were interested in a multi-purpose facility for meetings.

"That's what really set this in motion," Blackler said. "It occurred to me that maybe we should take a broader look at everything that is happening in the area instead of each group moving ahead on its own."

Blackler held a series of community meetings where representatives from local organizations shared what they were working on and where the future was taking them. Out of these meetings came the Vision Committee, a subcommittee of the Bigfork Steering Committee. Blackler was commissioned as the group's new leader.

"We should have an entity in place that spends time looking ahead and determining what will be possible and appropriate as the Village grows," Blackler said. "Things like parking, year-round business are coupled with valley growth. What we do down here is affected by what goes on around us. We need to be more alert at preserving the things that people like living here for."

Throughout Blackler's tenure as an actor at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, a teacher and a founding member of the Bigfork Elves, he's seen his share of changes - the good and the bad.

"Some of the things I've seen here have really been kind of neat," he said. "We have maintained a fairly good focus for the community by the bay. In the vision of many visitors, Bigfork is still the theater and the galleries. That's something we need to retain. But I also see other things that are making Bigfork look like any other spot in the road. That isn't something I want to continue."

Electric Avenue is one example Blackler points to when he speaks of a certain loss in character. What once were unique small businesses are now real estate offices, and the avenue now has a more crowded feel.

"The Village used to be more inviting," Blackler said. "You could actually see the shops. Now, you're dodging the back ends of pickups, and you aren't really seeing what is there."

Blackler's personal vision of an improved Bigfork sound simple enough, but some of the ideas may be too late, especially those that would revamp the Village. If money were no object, Blackler said that he would give Electric Avenue a makeover that would include a more open downtown with more places for residents and visitors to sit down for a meal and a chat. He would also like to build a parking facility to relieve the cramped feeling in the streets.

Access to the river would also be near the top of his list. Blackler said that except for Sliter Park, the public is essentially shut off from Swan River access in Bigfork.

"All you can do is stand on the bridge and look at it," Blackler said.

Beyond dreaming up ways to preserve the character, landscape, physical features, water and open space of Bigfork, the Vision Committee is trying to create a greater sense of community through one of Blackler's favorite topics - volunteerism.

Bigfork essentially runs on volunteer efforts. From the Playhouse, the Festival of the Arts, Sliter Park, the Riverbend Concert Series, the Swan River Nature Trail, the Fire Department and Ambulance to land-use planning, volunteers work thousands of hours each year.

But as economic factors force young families to work longer hours to pay the bills, Bigfork is slowly coming to terms with the lack of volunteers in the 20-45 age range.

"Of anything that is really going to be a thrust in the community, a lot of it is going to hinge on volunteerism," Blackler said. "The volunteer demographic has undergone a shift. The biggest group has always been an older age bracket, but younger people were more involved."

The Vision Committee hopes to tap into the ideas of high school students this year to try and stir up community interest within the next generation.

"Realistically, they are going to fill our shoes as time goes by," Blackler said. "It only makes sense to glean their input as we go along."

Another avenue of potential volunteers is the large group of retired homeowners who move to the area but don't really get involved.

"We need a combination of old-timers and newcomers trying to steer things," Blackler said. "That's been the main premise of the approach since there is no official governing entity that exists for Bigfork. I do get a little bit worried that those who move here try to bring ideas from other places that aren't appropriate for our area. They come here because they are attracted to our features, but then they try and change it to what they left behind."

To fill this gap between local, old-timer values and newcomer desires, the Vision Committee hopes to spearhead an effort that would create a DVD that would tell the story of Bigfork. Along with the community's historical tale, the video would inform would-be residents about what they are buying in to.

"The DVD would show some of the hopes and concepts of what Bigfork is all about, and what it can and will be," Blackler said, adding that the intent is to create common ground for a better spirit of community bound with a sense of purpose.

The Vision Committee generally meets once per month at the new Saddlehorn building on Grand Drive. The next meeting will be on Sept. 11 at noon. Blackler said the meetings have a more informal structure to allow everyone to share their ideas.

"Anything is fair game," he said.