Citizen Input Sought At Town Hall Meeting

One of the last pieces to the puzzles for the city’s comprehensive master plan will begin to take shape at a town hall meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 6, at the Wills Point chamber building.

Professor of Public Affairs Cliff Bowden, along with students in his classes at the University of Texas at Dallas, have been working on an analysis of components of the city, such as current land use, transportation and the economics of the city. The next part of the analysis is to get citizen input as to what they expect or desire from the city they live in or near.

"I’d like for this meeting to be informative for the citizens, but we are also going to be asking directly what they want," Bowden said.

Those attending the meeting will be given a survey with check boxes, but Bowden will also seek immediate input from those attending.

"We will take all of that information, and make it part of the recommendations we give to the city council," Bowden said.

City leaders from the EDC, city council, school board and civic organizations have been asked to attend. The EDC also put together a letter naming four areas the board would like Bowden to address. They are: value of the railroad and future rapid rail; benefits of the Van Zandt Regional Airport; value of identifying critical pieces of commercial land; and the importance of preparing an official strategic plan with timeline tactics.

"Studies by the North Central Texas Council of Governments project that over the next 25-30 years, this area of Kaufman and Van Zandt County will have the highest growth rate in the DFW area," Bowden said. "It’s important to have a plan to deal with that growth. The recommendations we make to the city, and the action they take will ultimately lead to changes in zoning, public safety, health and lifestyle."

Bowden and his students have completed what he refers to as a "snapshot in time," of current land usage and transportation. The transportation analysis breaks down city streets by mileage, ownership, condition, availability of curbs, gutters and streetlights, construction material, number of lanes and availability of parking. The economic portion of the analysis is still in process.

Bowden stresses the need for public input in order to have a complete master plan.

"This is participatory government," Bowden explained. "Anyone involved in civic groups, or board members - whether it is the EDC or the chamber of commerce - or private citizens, need to attend and offer their input as to what they want from the city. All of that information will be incorporated into the recommendations we make to the city."

Bowden also suggested that anyone unable to attend the town hall meeting might write down their suggestions and submit them to city hall. Those suggestions or ideas would get to him as well. He added that there could be a follow up public meeting before the final plan is submitted to the city.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 6, at 6 p.m. in the chamber of commerce building.