Strategic planning session paves the way for Beresford’s future
Riva Sharples | Editor
A Strategic Planning Session held last week in Beresford made one thing clear: There are many people who care about the community, and they are willing to do what it takes to ensure continued growth and improvement here in the future.
The planning session, hosted by Beresford Mayor Eli Seeley, involved input and conversation between major stakeholders in the community, including City Council members and city administrators, school officials, business owners, law enforcement officials, regional government officers, community volunteers, and more.
Driven by Beresford’s vision – “to become a model of resilience, sustainability, and prosperity” through a “welcoming and interconnected community that celebrates its heritage while embracing opportunities for growth” – the session analyzed the recent survey conducted in the community, as well as explored the strategic pillars that will drive progress in the future.
A recent survey conducted of residents found that top priorities among respondents included childcare access, affordable housing and rentals, revitalizing Beresford’s downtown, ensuring pedestrian safety and traffic control, and having improved communication between city officials and the community. Survey respondents indicated that they have a high degree of satisfaction with the community as a whole, but wanted to see improvement in safety infrastructure and communication.
Looking to the future, there are five pillars of focus for the community, Seeley told the various stakeholders: 1) Thriving Community Development; 2) Safety and Quality of Life; 3) Heritage and Innovation; 4) Collaborative Governance; and 5) Economic Prosperity.
In the area of community development, the goal is to foster a vibrant, interconnected community. Key initiatives related to this pillar include adding 50 childcare spots in 2026, fast-tracking façade improvements in the downtown area, attracting a full-service family restaurant to town (something indicated as a need through the survey), investing in a walking or bike trail in the town, and building housing for 100 new residents over the next five years.
For the Safety and Quality of Life pillar, the goal is to ensure every resident feels safe and supported here. Key initiatives to address this pillar include a pedestrian safety plan of crosswalks, traffic calming, and light audits, ensuring safe routes to school with business partners, improving parks, trails, and recreation, and health promotion via the health officer and city council.
“Part of safety and quality of life is helping people realize what they already have,” admitted Seeley.
For example, he said, with the July 28 storm damage that occurred, the City of Beresford reacted with amazing speed, working around the clock to clear streets and get the pool and park back in order and open.
The Beresford Pool and Park were open again within one or two days after the storm, which was impressive given the damage suffered in the community, Seeley said.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the pillar of Heritage and Innovation, the goal is to “celebrate Beresford’s past while building for the future.” Key initiatives in this pillar include historical preservation and possibly creating a heritage walking tour, promoting public art and cultural identity, and piloting smart city technology through a city app.
“I’d really like to see us celebrate our history,” said Seeley. “How many people know that Beresford was originally named Paris? Maybe we could build a small Eiffel Tower as a tribute to that name?”
Other ideas include printing large photographs depicting Beresford’s history and having them displayed downtown.
The pillar of Collaborative Governance focuses on building trust and transparency.
“99.9% of what we do as a city, as a community should be transparent to all citizens,” said Seeley.
Key initiatives for this pillar involve launching a city update newsletter, hosting regular town halls, having an online tracker that would show progress toward community goals, and conducting regular department evaluations.
For the final pillar, the pillar of Economic Prosperity, key initiatives include attracting light manufacturing, ag-tech, and small tech to town; leveraging interstate access for business and tourism, creating pop-up shops and farmers markets, attracting ten new downtown businesses in three years, and making Beresford a tourism destination by 2028.
“This pillar is the important base of the pyramid,” said Seeley. “If we don’t grow the economy, we can’t make advances in the other areas.”
Seeley ended last week’s strategic planning session by noting that the meeting was a call to action.
“This is a shared vision,” he said. “Our success depends on partnerships and community action. Together, let’s make Beresford a model for small town success. Let’s build something that honors our past and excites our future!”