Culver 20/20 Vision Update

At last night’s meeting of the Culver Town Council, I again broached the subject of funding a new Comprehensive Plan.  (See previous entries on this subject here.) Apparently the idea of pursuing a new income survey has been shelved, so it now becomes a budget item that will need to be funded internally.  At the behest of Kathy Clark, I have approached the Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC) about funding all or part of a new Comp Plan.  I also discussed this with Jennifer Laurent at MCEDC and she concurred that this is a viable use of the TIF funds that the CRC controls.  The CRC is interested in pursuing this, but they would like participation from the Town, thus my request last night.

I brought this issue up again before the Plan Commission last week and offered to make the request to the Council on their behalf.  I think the Council understands the importance.  I reminded them of the recent article in the Pilot News last week that discussed Plymouth’s effort to update their Comp Plan since their current outdated plan was limiting their ability to obtain grants.

The Comp Plan is such an intrinsic piece of the puzzle for everything from infrastructure maintenance and expansion, land development, zoning issues, grant pursuits and economic development that it is critical that we have an up to date plan.  There once was a chart on the wall in the Council Chamber showing how everything flowed down from the Comprehensive Plan.  That is still an important point of understanding that I think is often missed.

The Town Council made the decision to schedule a work session on this issue around the middle of next month once the new Town Manager is in place.  His start date is scheduled for June 4th and I’m sure he’ll have a lot on his plate.  I hope we can keep this issue near the top of the agenda.  With the Town coming up on the budget season, I’m hoping that we can get some money set aside to provide a Comp Plan that will provide the necessary guidance for the community.