Planning commission to hold neighborhood meetings in January
Hillsboro Planning Commission met Tuesday in a special meeting to continue work on the community visioning.
The commission approved city administrator Steve Garrett's proposal for neighborhood meetings to gather community input.
Garrett will meet with neighborhood groups to give an overview of the survey taken more than a year ago and an overview of the available comprehensive plan information. The main purpose of the neighborhood meetings will be to get public input. According to Garrett, the city had a 50 percent return of surveys.
"We got good input from the surveys," he said.
The dates, times, and sites are tentative. Garrett's proposal includes five one-to-two hour meetings beginning at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10, 11, 17, 20, and 24. Possible locations for the meetings include the Hillsboro High School for the east part of town; Hillsboro Police Department or city hall for the north part of town; Trinity Church for the west part of town; and Scout House for the south part of town. The final meeting will be for the entire community.
"What we do prior to these meetings is crucial," said Garrett. "We need to do a good job of letting folks know what we're doing and that we want their input."
The consensus of the commission was that the community needs to be well-informed before the neighborhood meetings. At this time, there are no plans for mass mailings. Instead, the commission and Garrett hope to get information to the public via the newspapers, fliers, and community groups.
"We want a good turn out and a cross section of our population at the meetings," Garrett said.
The neighborhood meetings are part of the city's comprehensive plan but not mandatory.
"The neighborhood meetings are over and above what is require," Garrett said. "This is extra work to try to get a quality plan."
Commission members questioned Garrett about progress at Windover.
"We've had some discussions and there is communication between attorneys," he said. "But I'm not sure I'm able to comment at this time."
There is a house going in on Cedar Street that was manufactured by the company who proposes to build the houses for Windover. The houses, manufactured in Plainville, are built to set perpendicular to the street on a lot, not parallel.
Garrett also was questioned by the commission about a new business going in at the former AMPI building.
"There is a new tenant at AMPI," Garrett said. "However, I've been asked to keep things quiet for a while and I'm not able to comment about the business."
The next planning commission meeting will be Jan. 27, 2005.
