The brain trust responsible for drafting Columbus” comprehensive plan needs your input.
Darrell Meyer, senior vice president of the KPS Group in Birmingham, Ala., said Monday the first in a series of public meetings designed to engage the public has been pushed back from a planned February date to March 10 from 4:30-7 p.m. at the Trotter Convention Center. Meyer said the idea is to give everyone — literally, everyone — ample time to plan to attend the meeting.
“We wanted to make sure we had a good run up to this. That was not the case, so we called a halt. There”s no reason we absolutely have to start this month,” said Meyer. “The more people who show up at that town meeting, the more likely that people with the best interest of the city at heart will be pleased.
But one strong showing won”t be enough. Meyer wants to bring that crowd back again and again through a series of meetings as ideas evolve and the KPS Group”s interpretation of public opinion is double- and triple-checked.
To do that, he hopes to hold each monthly meeting on the same day of the same week at the same time.
Similar to the Columbus charette held in September 2009, the KPS Group”s public meetings will call on citizens to list the city”s pros and cons. Topics will include, but aren”t limited to: Infrastructure, education, transportation, commerce, landscaping and economics.
Approximately five meetings will be held before a land use plan and an action plan are delivered to the city in late summer.
Progress toward Columbus” comprehensive plan hit a snag Feb. 3 when City Planner Patricia Southerland unexpectedly resigned. Meyer describes a city planner”s role as a “champion for getting it done” after a city settles on an action plan.
Although some cities, such as Selma, Ala., choose to go without a city planner on staff, most, said Meyer, find a need for at least one if not a planning staff.
“We”re not going to say ”Y”all need a planner for the following reason …” It will become evident,” he said.
Columbus is paying KPS $55,000 to lead the planning process.
Since its founding in 1965, the KPS Group has lent its services to multiple cities and communities in the Southeast. Through the years its clients have included Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Montgomery, Ala.; and Pensacola, Fla.
Meyer said KPS played a role in developing the downtown plan and streetscape in Tuscaloosa. The firm also assisted in designing the University of Alabama”s transit system, housing and upgrades to its sports facilities in 2007.
He warned changes will not be immediate and may not look exactly like the picture painted during the public meetings.
“Very seldom does everything work out like you plan. Things happen in between,” said Meyer.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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