Though our meetings include a variety of local community organizations, we address many issues related to improving the lives of those of us who live and work in Olmsted County. As these plans take shape, we believe it is time to explore how to productively align our shared community concerns with these planning efforts.

Recently, our group endorsed the Olmsted County Public Health Services Advisory Board's DMC plan recommendations presented to the Rochester City Council at its March 23 public hearing. The recommendations are a significant first step in ensuring the opportunities of economic growth are widely shared and enhance our quality of life.

Briefly, the Public Health Services Advisory Board's recommendations assume economic development initiatives like DMC can "promote or hinder individual health choices," and the board recommends social determinants of health, such as housing, education, income, transportation and others, be included as "key factors in evaluating development proposals." We agree.

Additionally, we would emphasize that DMC and other initiatives will have direct, substantial and sustained impact on the well-being of our families and the vitality of the community in which we live and work.

With this in mind, we presented our recommendations to DMC Corp. board during its April 23 public hearing. We stressed the nature of these community impacts will be determined by whether DMC project approvals result in, for example:

• Developing a public transit system for efficient access to human and social services, as well as work and entertainment.

• Building housing that is inclusive and affordable for all who live and work within the DMC district.

• Promoting employment that reflects our diverse community.

• Providing for those community services that address the social impacts of low-income jobs.

As the DMCC board and its Economic Development Agency implement the development plan to establish Rochester as a Destination Medical Center, we believe they should work with the community to create:

1. Policies that bring potential health and social impacts into the decision-making process.

2. Project approval criteria that evaluate the potential health and social impacts of a project before it is built.

3. Metrics that gauge progress toward positive health and social outcomes that promote and sustain an inclusive and healthy community.

We believe the concerns and recommendations we presented to the DMCC board at its recent public hearing were well-received. The agencies and organizations that provide community and social services need to play an integral role in the implementation of the DMC plan as well as the other planning initiatives now underway.

At this hearing, we also were pleased to hear other groups and individuals make similar presentations to the board on these same issues. These other voices confirmed for us that we are a community that welcomes economic growth but expects it to be pursued to the benefit of all who live here. We are confident this vision is shared by those leading these efforts, and we look forward to working with them to see it realized.

Jerome Ferson is United Way of Olmsted County president, chairman of the Community Networking Group and co-chairman of the J2G early childhood task force.