posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 4:31 PM
by
admin
Fall Visioning Process
Both Borderlands Pilot Towns are busy preparing for their fall public workshops. Exeter's public workshop is October 29 at the Metcalf Elementary School. Killingly's public workshop is October 27 at the Westfield Congregational Church. At both workshops, community residents will actively participate in the planning process, using innovative techniques to investigate alternative development options for their town. For more information about the workshop or to download a workshop poster see the town webpages at www.borderlandsproject.org
The results of the online community surveys that were conducted last spring and summer are posted on the town webpages. Check it out and see what's important to your community.
Each town also has a couple unique activities underway. In Exeter, they are working with the local high school to develop a student project focusing on the pilot project. Some students might even conduct interviews on their local cable channel. Hopefully these efforts will generate enthusiasim for more folks to participate in the workshop and the project.
In Killingly, a University of Connecticut Senior Landscape Architecture Studio will focus it's efforts on the Route 101 Corridor at the end of the semester. Students will attend the public workshop to learn more about the project and then investigate design alternatives based on the issues identified at the workshop.
This past weekend James Kent Associates a group of Social Ecologists also visited Killingly. JKA brings a whole new approach designed to build consensus by getting to the issues at the grassroots level. Pilot team members were encouraged to go out into the community to places they weren't familiar with and to gathering places - to observe and to listen. Many team members commented that the training got them thinking in new ways. We hope to incoporate information learned through the JKA approach into the ongoing process.
Susan Westa, Borderlands Pilot Coordinator