Submitted by Chris Rossi, Hamilton Town Council
(Hamilton, Poolville, NY – Nov. 12, 2013) Thanks to the more than 30 Hamilton Town residents who braved the first snow of the season to attend a Visioning Workshop at the Poolville Community Center the night of Nov. 7.
Planner Nan Stolzenburg from Community Planning & Environmental Associates led town of Hamilton residents in a series of exercises to create a vision for the future of the Town. Attendees included residents, farmers and business people from our villages, hamlets and countryside.
The meeting opened with questions asked about why the Town was engaging in a Comprehensive plan update – is this “another round of zoning”, or is there “a hidden agenda about hydrofracking?”
Stolzenburg explained that the State expects towns to update their comprehensive plans every 10 years, with Hamilton’s plan dating from 1999. Comprehensive Plans are not laws and not zoning. Rather the plan, with input from the community, sets the tone for the town’s future. An update reviews what has been completed from the old plan, examines new issues for the town, and gives town government a road map for future actions.
The Workshop was an exploration of all issues relevant to Hamilton today. Topics including energy development, agriculture, housing and recreation were all part of the conversation. Attendees broke into groups and discussed the bad, the good, and the best for Hamilton. The results are a series of vision statements that will be considered along with survey results in creating our revised Comprehensive Plan.
Next steps include focus groups on various topics to be held in early 2014. In the meantime, our survey is getting a great response, but we would still like to hear from those who haven’t had a chance to fill one out. The Town is extending its survey return deadline to Dec. 2, and invites you to fill one out. Pick one up at the Town office or local library, or fill a survey out online at http://www.townofhamiltonny.org