Open house gathers information for Bay City master plan
By Paul Montagno
More than 50 residents and stakeholders gathered at Bay City’s city hall to comment on topics that will frame the strategic plan being developed by Carlisle/Wortman Associates. The topics, or themes, of the plan are
- Community identity
- Housing and neighborhoods
- Connections (transportation)
- Environmental resiliency
- Recreation and entertainment, and
- Economic development.
Each topic was represented at a station with informational material and a unique activity that allowed participates to answer questions, prioritize direction, and/or provide written comments. For example, participants were asked to place different colored dots on a paper map of the city to identify locations for various transportation options (transit, vehicular, pedestrian, bicycles). Another station asked specific questions about ways the community could develop economically. Participants were invited to respond to the questions by taking a green card for “yes” or a red card for “no,” writing the reason for their answer on the back of the card, and depositing the card into an individual box for each question. In addition to this event, people can also comment on the master plan website, http://baycitymasterplan.com/ using the MiCommunity Remarks map-based input tool. They can provide location-based comments on these topics throughout the process.