The Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County

Franklin issues strategic plan suggestions

BLYTHEWOOD – In an effort to initiate a strategic plan for the Town, Mayor Bryan Franklin said he plans to pull together available folks together in January, prior to town council’s monthly meeting on Jan. 25, to develop and publish a town mission, vision and values.

Franklin said he wants to develop near-term, short-term and long-term (two to three year) objectives to reach a vision for the town. He then plans to assign lead agents (town councilmen, planning commissioners, town employees, non-profit organizations, etc) to each objective based on individual strengths and skills.

“Please use this to drive your own ideas,” Franklin wrote in an email to town stakeholders, “so when we sit down during our strategic planning session sometime in January, we can have a holistic approach to separating large initiatives (i.e.: traffic improvement planning, rezoning critical areas, sports complex development and annexation) from smaller projects (recognition programs, cosmetic improvements, festival planning, etc),” Franklin wrote. Many of the topics were brought up by councilmen previously. “The key would then be to make them time-bound and get them scheduled so we all focus on accomplishment, and the staff sees the direction we are heading (and not have to react to competing priorities).”

“Once we list all our initiatives/ideas as a board, we can begin to schedule them for completion,” Franklin said in his email.

He asked for those who received his suggestions to reply with their own suggestions.

“My intent is to get all this on a calendar and track quarterly accomplishments as a team, holding ourselves and our employees accountable,” Franklin wrote in his email.

“As we gradually exit the days of COVID, we need to be focused on a clear and well-communicated plan. I do not want to overwhelm the staff, but if we schedule these out appropriately, all will be pulling the wagon on the same rope in the same direction.

“I’m looking forward to us designing a two or three-year plan to get there,” Franklin said. “I hope the stakeholders will continue to think strategically and in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats,” he said.


Strategic Plan Suggestions