Page 40 - Town of Newcomb Comprehensive Plan - 2010

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4.0 Community Input

Meaningful public participation is an essential part of any comprehensive planning effort. The
Newcomb Comprehensive Plan Committee actively sought input from many people throughout

the planning process. The goal was to effectively educate the public about the project, identify
community issues and values, and provide information to the Committee to help them develop
recommendations the community supports. Public participation involved (1) stakeholder
interviews, (2) periodic newsletters, (3) a community‐wide survey, (4) two public meetings, (5)
regularly scheduled Committee meetings that were open to the public, (6) and web‐based
information sharing.

The following discussion provides an overview of the public input provided to the Committee.

The full results of the stakeholder interviews and community‐wide survey are detailed in
Appendix II‐IV.

Stakeholder Interviews

Stakeholders from various sectors of the community were interviewed during the planning

process to gain an understanding of the various community priorities, issues and concerns. The
objective was to understand the variety of community issues early in the planning process so
they could be considered during the identification and review of the Comprehensive Plan’s
recommendations. Twenty‐two representatives from various stakeholder groups were
interviewed. The stakeholders represent a variety of agency, business association,
development, industry, and environmental sectors of the community. Four questions were
asked:

1. What do you like about Newcomb?
2. What don’t you like about Newcomb?
3. What would you like to see changed?
4. What would you like to not see changed?

The following summarizes the stakeholders’ comments:

• Most stakeholders felt Newcomb’s natural beauty and outdoor recreational
opportunities are one of its strongest attributes. Stakeholders also felt that the people of
the community and the small town atmosphere are essential assets. Community services
such as the school and public amenities like the ski lift and skating rink were important.
• Overwhelmingly, stakeholders expressed that Newcomb’s isolation presented many
difficulties for the Town, both socially and economically. Stakeholders felt Newcomb’s
isolation contributed to the lack of services (e.g., restaurant, gas station, etc.) and
business and employment opportunities within the community. Individual stakeholders

Town of Newcomb Comprehensive Plan
March 2010