What do you the citizens want Lowndes County to be?
Here’s a chance to speak up, so when somebody asks where were you when
the decisions were being made, you don’t have to answer “lying on the couch
watching television.” (Thanks to Nolen Cox for that phrase.)
Corey Hull wrote on facebook today,
Help Spread the Word for the Future of Lowndes County,
My office is conducting a survey and gathering public input on
Facebook (go to
www.facebook.com/valdostalowndesmpo) about what they
want the Lowndes County Common Community Vision to be
(
www.bit.ly/LowndesCCV). So far our participation has been low. I am
calling on all of you to encourage your friends, family and
colleagues to spread the word and let us know what you think about
the future of Lowndes County and its cities.Over the next two months there will be future opportunities for
public input so stay tuned.Thanks for your help.
On the Southern Georgia Regional Commission’s website,
Lowndes County Common Community Vision,
The VLMPO is working jointly with Valdosta and Lowndes County to
develop a Common Community Vision for future planning efforts to
start from the same community vision and sets of goals. The Common
Community Vision project is a way to gather public input to form the
future vision for Lowndes County and Valdosta in all planning
efforts. A series of public meetings and other events will be held
in the Fall 2013 to gather public and stakeholder input on this
effort. If you would like to host a public meeting or have us come
to your civic group, neighborhood group, church group or other event
please contact
Corey Hull at 229-333-5277.
Here’s an HTML version of those worksheets, which as you can see are about
almost everything.
Except agriculture and forestry, which seem to have been overlooked.
And sprawl.
But you can write in things like that as your concerns.
-jsq
Lowndes
County Common Community Vision
What
is the Common Community Vision?
The
Lowndes County Common Community Vision is an opportunity for local
governments and agencies to cooperatively develop a community wide
vision statement and goals that can guide our future planning efforts
through a coordinated process.
Why
are we doing this?
Several
agencies/departments in Valdosta and Lowndes County are working to
create new plans requiring the development of vision statements,
goals and objectives. This effort will allow all agencies to use a
common, community driven vision with high level goals they can
implement through their own plans, policies and strategies.
What
do we need from you, the citizen and stakeholder?
We need
your feedback and input. By answering the questions below for each of
the categories and themes you will share your vision for Valdosta and
Lowndes County. Please describe what you think the communities
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are, and how we can
build on what we have, or mitigate negative impacts to our community
and our quality of life.
Where
did the categories and themes come from?
Staff
reviewed goal, objective, and policy statements from over 23 local,
regional and state plans to identify common planning categories and
themes within those categories. As you will see there is overlap of
themes across categories (ex: land use theme in health/safety
category means that land use and development is important to meet
health and safety goals).
Please
take a few moments to answer these six questions about each of the
categories (Economic Development, Education, etc.), placing your
answers under the appropriate theme on the following pages. We want
to know what you think the community is doing well and where we need
to work a little harder.
What
is it that you value about your community? / What works well?
What
is not working well? What do you dislike about your community?
How
can the community improve? / What would you like to see in your
community?
Through
what implementation methods, policies, etc. does the community get
there?
What
challenges does the community face to achieving this vision?
Are
there any missing inputs/gaps in community interests? Have we forgot
about anything?
Economic Development
Collaboration
Economic
Engines (large employers)
Infrastructure
(utilities/community facilities)
Land
Use/Development
Small
Business
Workforce
Readiness
Education (K-12, Higher Education, Public/Private)
Education (generally)
Higher
Education
K-12
Workforce
Training
Health and Safety (Health,
Police, Fire, Emergency Management)
Disaster Recovery (mitigate disaster impacts to recover
quickly)
Facilities/Infrastructure
(utilities/community facilities)
Education/Awareness
Land Use
Development
Public
Safety (Police/Fire)
Housing
Affordable Housing
Community
Appearance
Housing
Program Awareness
Land Use
Development
Intergovernmental Coordination
Coordination
Engage
Stakeholders
Funding
University
Relationships
Land Use
Coordination
Community
Appearance
Conservation
Economic
Engines (large employers)
Infrastructure
(community facilities)
Land Use
Development
Engage
Stakeholders
Natural Resources
Air Quality
Conservation
Education/Awareness
Environmental
Quality (generally)
Historic
(museums, buildings, etc.)
Land Use
Development
Recreation
Facilities
Solid
Waste
Water
Quality
Quality of Life (Recreation, Cultural, Historic)
Cultural (music, theater, etc.)
Recreation
Facilities
Historic
(museums, buildings, etc.)
Recreation
Programs
Transportation
Airport
Connectivity
Education/Awareness
Land Use
Development
Multi-modal
(bicycles, pedestrians, trucks, rail, etc.)
Public
Transit
Safety/Operations
Engage
Stakeholders
Utilities/Infrastructure (Water,
Sanitary/Storm Sewer, Community Facilities)
Capital Investment
Utility/Facility
Location
Land Use
Development