Comprehensive plan steering committee meets

MILLBROOK — Officially appointed by the Washington Town Board on Monday, Oct. 4, the four new members of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, Karen Mosca, Maureen King, Josh Mackey and Kate Farrell, met for the very first time by speakerphone  a day later on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. The notice was posted on the door of Town Hall on the same day, but word got out quickly and the committee, Margaret Irwin of River Street and Bob Audia, the Town Board liaison, were joined by a few informed residents for the session.

Mosca positioned the meeting as a brainstorming session on the next steps, and the flow of ideas between the newly-appointed members and the audience was relaxed and productive. The committee agreed that it had no authority to make decisions and that its role was to oversee and get the process of adopting a new comprehensive plan moving.

King suggested the group focus on when and where members should meet and how they communicate. No one seemed sure of what the actual name of the steering committee should be and Irwin pointed out that the comprehensive plan itself should no longer be considered a mere update to the 1989 version.

After a discussion of whether the next public meeting should address the issue of housing or the vision statement, the four agreed, with some constructive comments from the audience, that a vision statement workshop should come first.

Mackey pointed out that the entire group should have access to the information that the original committee produced.

Irwin, the plan’s consultant, reminded the group that the scope of work had expanded. She also suggested to the committee that it “needed to respond in some way� to letters received from residents. The group agreed to present its initial thoughts at the next meeting of the full Comprehensive Plan Committee, which would be the first since June 28.

At press time, the town of Washington’s website indicated the full Comprehensive Plan Committee, another newly proposed name for this group which has also been referred to as a “review� or “update� committee, would meet on Tuesday, Oct. 12, although this meeting is not included on the general town calendar. Nor were the new names of the full committee, whatever it shall officially be called, yet posted.

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