[mcdude]

For those who have proposed that the Weirs needs a master plan

Re-Imagine Laconia open house is tonight - Daily sun - Published Date Wednesday, 18 March 2015 12:16

LACONIA — Tonight the city's Planning Department will cap the process to "Re-imagine Laconia" with an open house at the Opechee Conference Center in Lakeport beginning at 5 p.m.
The Re-imagine Laconia effort is the first step in the preparation of a Master Plan re-write designed to define and identify the values that will inform the vision statement, which will serve as the keystone of the plan.
The conference center will be ringed with different interactive stations where participants can mingle with one another while offering their perspectives on the future of the city during the first hour.
At the "heroes and headlines" station residents will be asked to write a sketch about someone who has left an indelible mark on the city and its inhabitants along with a newspaper headline envisioning the city 10 years into the future. At the land use station there will be a number of options for changing the face of the city together with colored dots for residents to score them in order of priority. Residents will also have opportunities to express their opinions about the management of natural resources and the development of the local economy.
Those who have not completed the survey on-line at www.re-imaginelaconia.org will have another opportunity at the survey station where laptops will available to record responses. to 10 questions, all aimed at gathering opinions about all aspects of civic life, from the outward appearance to the quality of life in the city.
Children will be welcomed and a table will offer them activities to pass the time while teens will have a corner to themselves to "text their opinions".
At 6 p.m. Planning Director Shanna Saunders will summarize the results of the community forum held in October, explain what steps have been taken since and look ahead to the next steps in formulating the Master Plan. In particular, Saunders will address the values and priorities expressed by residents and visitors since her department began soliciting opinion last summer. The goal will be to identify the principal values and incorporate them into a vision statement that will inform all aspects of the Master Plan.
David Hohenschau of the Orton Family Foundation, which provided funding and support for this stage of the Master Plan process, will explain why the identification and refinement of community values is essential to the planning process.
At 7 p.m. the open house will resume another hour for those who arrived after 6 p.m. Drinks and light refreshments will served during the evening.