In the vision of Bismarck City Commissioner Sandi Tabor, downtown Bismarck is the place to be. And she's hoping that eventually, everyone else will see her vision as clearly as the cars lining the street.

Tabor chairs the CORE committee, created by her and Bismarck Mayor John Warford last month to look at issues in the heart of Bismarck. The committee met earlier this month for the first time and heard suggestions from city leaders last week. Wednesday, they heard from the junior league of movers and shakers.

A forum of Bismarck's "young leaders" were randomly selected to voice their opinions. The group, consisting of Melissa Mayer, Jennifer Anderson, Parker Scott, Corey Mayher, Valerie Nies, Amy Jo Johnson and Craig Ruhland, churned up many suggestions of how to improve Bismarck's downtown. They each listed cities they've visited and lived in that boasted the kind of downtown they think Bismarck needs.

The keys to improving downtown Bismarck, and thus the city itself, are adding variety, cultural opportunities, uniqueness and accessibility to the area, the group said. Scott said while it's hard to compare Bismarck to Chicago or Minneapolis, there are elements to those cities, such as outdoor ice skating rinks and horse and buggy rides, that would work well here.

Tabor said those elements of what makes other cities stand out in the group members' minds are what need to be explored. While there are obvious differences between Bismarck and the nation's metropolises, the bar can never be set too high. She'd like to take the appeal of other downtowns and apply those factors to Bismarck.

"We need to find what made (the group) think about that community," she said.

At the February meeting of the CORE committee, Tabor said discussion will center on how to make suggestions reality. Previous studies have sat idle because implementation wasn't followed through

While many proposals from the younger consultants have come up before - more recreation area, nightlife and entertainment, retail and residential neighborhoods - there was a different focus. Tabor said Wednesday's group was more specific as to what they are looking for in a downtown they'd like to spend time in.

"When the other groups talk … they're more generic," she said. "It's good to have a better definition."

She said people may figure nightlife automatically leads to bars, but the group said bringing new forms of entertainment downtown will get people there.

The downtown's future could come from this group's definitions, and they had plenty of them:

Variety - Mayer suggested a "place where you can get lost in a book;" there's already plenty of furniture and jewelry stores, she said.

Transportation - Although parking, or lack thereof, could be debated for days, the group said public transportation downtown will help get people there, and keep them there. They're in luck, as the citywide fixed-route bus system is scheduled to begin operation in March.

Uniqueness - members of the group suggested the city play with its past, bringing a unified theme downtown.

Culture - Provide local talent a venue to show off, the group said. Develop an artists' community, or just centralize the cultural opportunities that already exist.

The CORE committee will meet at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 4 at the Chamber of Commerce.

(Reach reporter Angie Buckley at 250-8255 or angiebuckley@ndonline.com.)