The biggest immediate challenge that will confront the new “All Together Altoona Fund Development Committee” will be to construct an operational format that will allow it to remain focused, productive and forward-looking for at least a decade as it works toward objectives outlined in the city’s new comprehensive plan.

New people come aboard, new issues and challenges evolve and addressing new needs becomes imperative, so even the best planning implemented at this time can be eroded by distractions along the way.

That must not happen regarding the newly introduced venture, which was the topic of an article in the Mirror’s Feb. 27 edition.

Being cognizant of the potential pitfalls will enable the committee to deal with those issues properly and expeditiously, if they do in fact surface.

Upfront, it must be acknowledged that what lies ahead will be a formidable undertaking about which even some of the Mountain City’s greatest optimists might be leery. However, prospects for major improvement become diminished if reluctance and fear of the unknown — or previously untried — becomes too entrenched.

Once the committee gets “up and running,” though, there will be ample time for city residents to express their viewpoints and offer their suggestions about major needs, as well as about perceived general shortcomings that exist here.

All of the above having been acknowledged; an appropriate reminder is in order:

Mayor Matt Pacifico is just in the early steps toward bringing the committee into official existence, but he’ll have to navigate all of the many “waters” of talent first that the city has to offer.

The Feb. 27 article says that the committee “could consist of representatives from City Council, city staff, the Planning Commission, development organizations at the local, regional and state levels, businesses, banks, law firms and philanthropic organizations.”

According to the mayor, the goal is to get members who represent segments of the community that can be sources of financial support, along with individuals who are experts in financial and legal matters.

At a city council meeting on Feb. 24, Pacifico explained that “the role of a committee at this stage is to help consider options and make decisions on the way to establishing a fund that has governing rules, goals, etc.”

The mayor added that “this group could transition into the ATA Fund Committee overseeing the fund.”

There’s an additional approach that the city could — and obviously should — utilize, one that already might have a high place on the “drawing board” tied to this effort.

Pacifico described it as using money that the effort is able to raise to leverage additional money from state and local grant programs.

There must be a general understanding within this community that the new comprehensive plan calls for upgrading the city’s public places and neighborhoods, so that Altoona can attract and retain young people and talented workers. Making the city look nice will be nice; and Altoona can never have enough good-paying jobs.

An emphasis beyond raising money, then, must remain focused on attracting new enterprises with pay scales to match what the city is striving to accomplish.

The city is lucky to have a mayor and council with bold visions for the future, but a correct operational format is indispensable to work hand-in-hand with those capable individuals.