Council to kick off planning on Saturday

Mayor is Looking for Four or Five Big Projects, 10-12 Smaller Ones

BLYTHEWOOD – A strategic planning session for Blythewood is set for Saturday, Jan. 23 at the Doko Manor. The meeting will last from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. The public is invited.

It was during the Nov. 25 council meeting that Mayor Bryan Franklin proposed initiating a strategic plan, saying he would like to “pull together available folks in January prior to town council’s monthly meeting on Jan. 25, to develop and publish a town mission, vision and values.

In an email to The Voice on Tuesday, Franklin said he would like to see four or five big ‘rocks’ (projects) and 10 – 12 little ‘rocks’ come out of that meeting that could be scheduled over the next three years with project leaders assigned.

“I would like to have progress reviews held quarterly during joint planning sessions of the town council and the town’s planning commission,” he said.

He sent a list of 25 or so topics that he and council members had suggested over the last few months to stakeholders in the town to think about and consider, “so 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.),” he said.

“Once we list all our initiatives/ideas as a board, we can begin to schedule them for completion,” Franklin said. “My intent is to get all this on a calendar and track quarterly accomplishments as a team, holding ourselves and our employees accountable. As we exit the days of COVID, we need to be focused on a clear and well-communicated plan.”

Franklin said he wanted council to design a two or three-year plan to ‘get there’.

The meeting will be live streamed for remote attendees.

See the 25 suggestions for discussion at the strategic planning session on here.

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