Development of a community is like a three-pronged fork used to eat spaghetti. You stick the fork into a community and churn it up and pull out some sort of new development. But we don’t often realize this fork even exists and who makes up each tine on the fork.

A few weeks ago I presented to the Intergovernmental Council of Alpena. Members of the board of commissioners, municipal council, and representatives from each township were present. My topic of discussion revolved around the question, “What kind of Alpena are you creating?” and the importance of a shared vision for all who hold a position involved in community development.

As community leaders, these elected officials are responsible for a certain amount of development that occurs within our community. These are the folks we hear about, along with other members of the business landscape such as the Chamber of Commerce, when new stores come to town.

What is sometimes a bit confusing is who is actually responsible for the development we see in and around Alpena. I was recently asked why we need two new dollar stores in town. I can’t answer this question because I don’t know; however, it brings up an important point. Do we understand community development?

I could not answer the question about dollar stores, but I was able to describe community development in a simplified format. Community development is like a three-pronged fork.

Prong 1: Economic Development partners. These are the organizations tasked with assisting new business starts within the area. They include organizations like the Chamber of Commerce – Economic Development, financial institutions, and local governments that set things like ordinances and zoning laws.

Prong 2: Entrepreneurs and business developers. When a company reviews statistical data from the 49707 zip code and surrounding areas it makes a decision determining if Alpena would be an ideal location for its next new store.

Prong 3: Land owners and real estate brokers. When the business developer comes to town to look for land for their new business, the land owner ultimately decides if they are going to sell to the developer. Sometimes the land owner or broker knows what the developer wants to put on the land, sometimes they don’t.

If all three prongs work together a fork is formed and the development occurs. All three play a very active and important role in creating and finalizing these business development opportunities.

So when you see a new store go up, it is the result of multiple entities and people working to make it happen. For the first time in a very long time, Alpena has a fork with all tines working in unison to create positive opportunities for Alpena. As I circulate through the community I am often questioned on what people are seeing. Why? How? Do we really need it all? Who makes these decisions?

Now comes the spaghetti. If the fork works, it can dig into a community and pull out (or carry out) a delicious job well done. Or, it can pull out a sloppy mess of noodle tentacles hanging every which way that drip on your clothes and leave unsightly sauce marks on your chin.

I was a young adult before I knew how to properly eat spaghetti. I saw an Italian friend eating spaghetti in the cafeteria of my dorm at college and noticed that he employed an additional tool to allow him to eat spaghetti without creating a mess. He held a spoon at the edge of the dish and after grabbing a fork-full of noodles, he placed the fork onto the spoon and twirled the noodles up into a very neat and compact bunch. No outrageous noodle tentacles or sauce drips because the spoon kept everything going in the same direction. It was a work of art.

So while a proper functioning fork is important with each tine of the fork working in the same direction, the spoon is often an important missing piece of community development that we overlook. The spoon ties the ingredients together and assures that the fork is moving the ingredients in the same direction to create a masterpiece. Who is the spoon? The spoon is you, the community.

It is the community voice that moves the fork in the desired direction to create the kind of Alpena we all want to live in. We have a great jump-start on reinventing Alpena and now it is time for all of us come forward, forks and spoons, and play an active role in shaping the Alpena of tomorrow; assuring that what we value about our community will remain protected while balancing new opportunity to create prosperity for all.

Mary Beth Stutzman’s Inspiring A-Town runs bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Follow Mary Beth on Twitter @mbstutz.