Spring Break
Council interviews for assistance with city plan
Erin Bowen
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Community
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The plan, called "Oxford Tomorrow: A Vision for the Future" was developed in March by the city of Oxford's department of community development.
City council is currently in the process of selecting a consulting firm to aid in the process of creating an updated city plan to address economic development, transportation and housing.
An initial interview of potential consulting firms was held April 2 at the Oxford Courthouse for members of the community.
Oxford City Planner Kathryn Dale and Community Development Director Jung-Han Chen presented two of the four remaining potential consulting firms, RW Armstrong and McBride Dale Clarion, to the planning commission. The two other firms, ACP Consulting and LSL Planning, will be interviewed April 10.
Dale explained that her team had three weeks, beginning in March, to read over 11 proposed comprehensive plans from various consulting firms. The 11 were then narrowed down to four March 23, after hours of reviewing the top choices.
The common thread of each plan is to reevaluate the goals and values of Oxford as a community, assess the needs of the community, and effectively create a plan to guide Oxford in the upcoming years.
Monday's forum was the first time the firms and the planning commission came together.
Kathryn Dale said her committee's goal in setting up the interviews was to allow the possible candidates to be known by the planning commission.
"(The forum was) the first chance for the planning commission to meet with the consulting firms," Dale said. "From a staff point of view, we are trying to facilitate the best possible candidates for the project. They need to know the type of candidates and the type of work they hope to project."
According to Planning Commission Chairman Paul Brady, this meeting is just the beginning of the plan.
"This is the very start of the process," Brady said. "We are interviewing for consulting firms to handle the review of an update of our present plan. Over the years we have implemented sections of our plan, yet in some circumstances things have moved beyond us."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Bob Karrow
posted 4/06/07 @ 5:18 PM EST
Perhaps the greater Oxford community should look into developing the type of planning blog that University of Maryland students in College Park have developed. (Continued…)
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