Joint County-City Comprehensive Plan 2007-2027 Community

Joint County-City Comprehensive Plan 2007-2027

Community Participation Plan

for

Haralson County

And the cities of

Bremen, Buchanan, Tallapoosa, and Waco

DRAFT – May 2006

Prepared by the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center

Haralson County

Public Participation

DRAFT

1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

One of the best ways to strengthen communities is to create opportunities for citizens to

work collaboratively on the challenges that shape their community. Accomplishing this

requires political leadership, citizen education, and active involvement. A successful

comprehensive plan begins with a process of thinking about and visualizing the future. It

is about carrying on a dialogue with the community concerning its vision for evolving

and growing. This Community Participation Program was crafted with these principles in

mind and establishes a two-way communication between local citizens and their

government officials, with the overall goal of better decisions supported by the public.

1.2 Scope

Haralson County and the cities of Bremen, Buchanan, Tallapoosa and Waco are required

by state law to complete their Comprehensive Plan Update by February 28, 2007. The

plan will be prepared in accordance with the Local Planning Requirements from the

Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), effective May 1, 2005.

1.3 Requirements for Success

Experience in public involvement has shown that lasting solutions are best identified

when all segments of a community – individuals, elected officials, educators, the business

community, and civic organizations – are brought together in a spirit of cooperation. A

collaborative approach to community engagement is not an opportunity, but a necessity.

Community engagement and involvement is done for three reasons:

• To educate and increase public awareness

• To capture the knowledge and preferences of the people who live in and support

the communities

• To mobilize support and acceptance of the plan

The measure of effectiveness of a public involvement program is not that the public has

been informed, but that public input has contributed to making a decision that is feasible

and is supported by a large segment of the community.

Public comment and sentiment are a rich source of information about peoples’ values and

philosophies. These values and philosophies must be interpreted into meaningful

information to guide the project. It is essential to know the community’s values to avoid,

minimize, and mitigate impacts as well as narrow the field of alternative solutions. This

process is designed to accomplish the following:

• Improve the quality of decisions

• Increase ease of implementation

• Provide greater public understanding of community goals and objectives

• Provide tangible evidence that the community created its own identity

2 Identification of Stakeholders

Haralson County

Planning Commission

Glenda Wade

Donnie Ridley

Robert Smith

Public/Community Health Officials

Joan Campbell

Public Safety

Sheriff Eddie

Public and Private Utility Boards/Directors

Charlie Walker Georgia Power

Property Owners

Temple Inland, Robert Young, President

Local News Media

Steve Gradick WKNG Radio

Bremen Gateway/Tallapoosa Journal Beacon

School Board

Mr. Larry Ragsdale, Superintendent

Other interested community parties

Veterans Association Sammy Robinson

Regional Airport Authority: Danny Hutcheson

Buchanan

Mayor and Council

Jason Jarrell, Mayor

Lane Ayers, Mayor Pro Tern

Robert Farmer, Council Member

Debbie Johnson, Council Member

Donna Johnson, Council Member

Public Safety Officials

Chief Judy Parrish - Police

Chief Brian Walker - Fire

Public Works

Dean Tanner –Utilities Manager

Zoning Board

Gray Gamer

Scottie Worthington

Clovis Moman

Public Health

Joan Thorason - County Health Department

Authorities or Boards Housing Authority

Haralson County Chamber of Commerce

Haralson County Development Authority

Better Hometown Authority

Haralson County School Board

Bank

First National of Georgia

Churches

First Methodist First Baptist

Church of God

Endtime Warriors

West Georgia Worship

Church of Christ

New Testament

Open Door Baptist

Jackson Chapel

Bremen

Mayor and Council

Sharon Sewell

Chris Coats

Steve McIntosh

Danny Robinson

Sonny Parrish

Zoning Commission List

Charles Carroll

Mike Cocklereece

David Hildreth

Van Pelt

Bill Standifer

Bremen Downtown Development Authority 2005 Board of Directors

Cindy McIntosh – Chairperson

Susan Hightower

Wendy Bennet

Debra Hall

Mayor Sharon Sewell

Terry Crawford – Secretary – Treasurer

Alan Bell

Erik Luckey

Karon M. Higginbotham

Tallapoosa

Mayor and Council

Mayor Bridges

Councilman Kendall Robinson

Council member Jackie Roberts

Councilman Charles Worthy

Councilman Bill Wilson

Council member Connie Gentry

Public/Community Health Officials: County Board of Health

Joan Thorason

Melissa Becker

Public Safety Officials

Chief Scott Worthy Police

Chief Scott McClain Fire

Chief Brian Walker County Fire

Municipal Agencies & Authorities

Tallapoosa Housing Authority

Industrial & Recreation Authority

Haralson County Development Authority

Chambers of Commerce

Real Estate Professional

Don Smith

Bob Downey

Karen Steed

Banks

CB&T

National

South Trust

Insurance Companies

Sanders

Pope

Progressive

Churches

Westview Baptist

Emmanual Baptist

Baptist Church

Providence Baptist Church

Plainview Baptist Church

Methodist Church

Mt. Newley Baptist

Mt. Sinai

Presbyterian Church

Waco

Mayor and Council

Real Estate Professional

Linda Adams

Public & Private School

West Central Technical College

Bank

National

Churches

Baptist Church

United Methodist

New Hope

CUMBA

Arise Church

Waco Church of God

3 Identification of Participation Techniques

3.1 Initial Public Hearing

Initial public hearing was held in May 2006. The purpose of these hearings was to

announce to the public that the planning process for updating the comprehensive plan

was underway and to encourage community participation. Public hearings, which will

present the draft Community Agenda to the public, are tentatively scheduled for October

2006.

3.2 Community Visioning Meeting

The Community Visioning Meeting is tentatively scheduled for July. The participants

will be led through a series of exercises that will help them create a vision for Haralson

County and its cities. Participants also will discuss the issues and opportunities. The

workshop will have three goals:

1. Identify what the community wants to Preserve, Change, Create, or Connect

2. Establish a vision

3. Community Preference Survey

The end product of the Community Visioning Meeting will be a narrative description for

each plan area expressed in the following terms:

• Strengths and weakness of the quality of life for the County and cities.

• The opportunities and threats that confront the quality of life in the County and

cities over the next 20 years.

• The quality of life that the stakeholders and participants in the workshop envision

for the County and cities 20 years from now.

• The factors of change and big decisions that will be required to move the County

and cities from where it is today to where participants want it to go.

• Benchmarks, or measurable indicators, or quality of life that will be used to

indicate success in the future.

3.3 Community Design Workshop

The Community Design Workshop will focus on (1) how to realize the community’s

vision and (2) possible solutions to the community’s issues and opportunities. The

Workshop will give participants an opportunity to work with different land use,

transportation, and design scenarios and identify actions needed to fulfill the vision

established during the visioning meeting. Findings from the Community Assessment and

the results from the visioning meeting will be presented. The workshop is anticipated to

be a full day event and is tentatively scheduled for August 2006.

3.4 Open House

An Open House, tentatively scheduled for late September 2006, will be an opportunity

for participants to review and comment on the draft Community Agenda. It will allow

high-level interaction and participation to engage participants in comfortable two-way

dialogue. Displays, comment cards, handouts, and other information materials will be

distributed. Formal written comments, collected at the conclusion of the Open House,

will be summarized and responded to in a timely manner. The Open House will be up to

2 hours in length and will take place after the County and Cities have had an opportunity

to review and comment on the draft Community Agenda.

3.5 Adoption Process

The Coosa Valley Regional Development Center will present the draft Community

Agenda at a public hearing before transmittal to the Coosa Valley Regional Development

Center (RDC) for regional and state review. After the RDC and DCA review the

Community Agenda, the final draft will be presented to the Board of Commissioners and

respective city councils and the public for adoption at a regular meeting of each local

government. The tentative dates for these transmittal hearings are September and October

of 2006.

3.6 Outreach

Varieties of techniques will be used to get the information out to participants. Local

commercial owners, civic leaders, and churches will be contacted to assist in getting the

word out regarding public participation opportunities through press releases, posters, and

other information pertaining to the project. Additionally, the RDC will work with the

local newspapers to see that articles on the planning process are periodically published as

well as a reminder that information concerning the plan and draft documents will be

posted to the RDC web site.

4 Schedule for Completion of the Community Agenda

The graphic below shows the schedule for completion of the Comprehensive Plan

Update.

Major upcoming milestones in this schedule include:

Initial Public Hearing ……………..............................................................…..May

Community Visioning Meeting......................................................................…July

Community Design Workshop..........................................................................August

Open House…………………………………………………………………...September

Public Hearing for Transmittal of the Community Agenda to RDC/DCA.......November

Adoption of the Community Agenda............................................................February 2007