It’s your last chance to sound off on what Huntsville’s community services will look like over the next decade.
The Draft Community Services Master Plan went through public engagement last year, and will go to town council for approval at the end of March. Ahead of that, town staff are asking for a final round of community feedback.
“If something is important to someone and they’re not seeing it on that list, we’d like to hear about it,” says Simone Babineau, Huntsville’s Director of Community Services. “If something is on that list that folks might feel we need a higher priority to it, we’d love to hear that too.”
According to Babineau, a few ideas popped up more than others. Outdoor amenities and programming, multi-generational or family-focused activities, better communicating what’s available, and the creation of more community hubs were frequent suggestions.
Babineau says some of the suggestions have or are already being acted on, such as calls for a town-run outdoor ice rink.
She says staff will also return to council with recommendations on pricing and subsidizing town-offered programs, as affordability was also a frequent concern.
“This information is based on the data that was given, and certainly we didn’t catch everybody at the time,” says Babineau. “We’re just doing our due diligence to make sure we’ve captured the interests of our community.”
Both the full draft, and an abridged version, are available at the town’s public engagement website. Residents can submit their feedback through the survey on the page, or by emailing [email protected].
“I appreciate the community’s involvement in this. It helps staff bring forward projects and budget items,” says Babineau. “And it creates a vision for what this community is going to look like, or can look like, in two years, five years, ten years down the road.”
The deadline for submissions is 9:00 a.m. on March 14.