Goals for FY 2008-2009

Good morning! It has been a few days since my last post, and for that I apologize. We have been busy over the past 2 weeks with a number of exciting projects that necessitated evening meetings. That has reduced my time allowance for posting information to the blog site.

As the Jamestown News reported, the Town hired Hilary Greenberg of Greenberg Development Services to give us a rundown on the health of our business community. Originally, this was to be a collaborative effort between the Town and the Jamestown Bussiness Assocation (JBA). While we had a good turnout for the individual interviews (many thanks to Martha Wolfe for her help in getting that set up for us!!!!), I was a little disappointed that more folks did not show up for Hilary's presentation on Wednesday evening. Often, the Town is accused of being "difficult" when it comes to businesses. I suppose I hear that more often than most becuase of my job as the "Enforcement Officer", though. However, when the Town does attempt to open the channels of communication, it is discouraging to see such a meager turnout! I hope we can correct these issues in the future! Hilary's report on the "health" of our business community will be coming soon. I will make sure a digital copy is posted on our website. Stay tuned!

On Tuesday, our Town Council adopted the 2008-2009 budget, which begins on July 1. The Planning Dpeartment has outlined several goals that I would like to see completed in the upcoming fiscal year:

-- Complete a Deep River Paddle Trail/Greenway Plan
-- Complete the Development Ordinance Rewrite
-- Complete the Tree Preservation Ordinance
-- Complete a Pedestrian Master Plan
-- Complee a study of our Downtown areas with Greenberg Development Services
-- Acquire neighborhood park lands and re-apply for a PARTF grant (to develop)
-- Complete the expansion of our ETJ
-- Investigating the possibility of annexations

If you have specific questions about any of these tasks, I would encourage you to contact me at 336.454.1138 or mjohnson@jamestown-nc.gov.

Have a great weekend!