Los Alamos County Council Seeks Community Feedback On 2019 Strategic Leadership Plan

COUNTY News:

The Los Alamos County Council is seeking community feedback about the 2019 Strategic Leadership Plan unanimously adopted at the Council meeting held February 12, 2019. There will be two Town Hall sessions to collect feedback that will be hosted by Council Chair Sara Scott and Councilor Randall Ryti:

Saturday, March 9 from 9 to 10 a.m. in White Rock Fire Station 3
or
Thursday, March 14 from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Municipal Building, Room 200

Residents are welcome to attend either session. The sessions will start with about 10 minutes of introduction and context and then allow for about 40 minutes of public input regarding the priorities; approximately 10 minutes will be provided at the end of each session for general comments and questions.

Seven priorities have been identified in the Plan as focus areas this year:

Increasing the amount and types of housing options.
This includes a variety of housing options for all segments of the community, from affordable, entry level, and live-work housing to new options for those interested in downsizing or moving closer to central areas of the community.

Enhancing support and opportunities for the local business environment.
This includes appropriate support for existing businesses, growing new businesses, and supporting technology start-ups and spin-offs.

Addressing long-term building vacancies in our community.
Land availability in Los Alamos County, and in particular in the downtown areas, is limited and there is a desire to work towards better utilization, opportunities for new businesses, and improved aesthetics.

Protecting, maintaining and improving our open spaces, recreational, and cultural amenities.
Los Alamos County open spaces and cultural attractions are greatly valued by the community and provide opportunities for recreational and economic growth; appropriately allocating resources to ensure their health and sustainability is important to our citizens.

Supporting social services improvement.
Behavioral, mental and physical health and social services are important quality of life components; there are key areas where appropriate types and levels of county support could help address current needs.

Investing in infrastructure.
Appropriately balancing maintenance of existing infrastructure with new investments in county utilities, roads, facilities and amenities will help improve environmental stewardship, sustainability, and quality of life.

Planning for appropriate levels of county services.
Making sure we understand the level of services our citizens want will allow us to make appropriate investments in processes and staff to achieve them.

For those unable to attend the Town Hall sessions, additional background about the Plan and supporting documents used to guide the process, which began in January, have been posted on Open Forum as an open-ended survey that asks residents to consider and respond to three questions:

What ideas do you have for making progress on the seven priorities?
Are there key areas where we could make near-term impact?
Are there other priorities we should be looking at in the future?

Residents are encouraged to take the survey before the deadline of 5 p.m. March 31. Individuals do not need to register with Open Forum to weigh in with comments and can remain Anonymous. Results will be given to the Council in a report generated by the Open Forum software, for them to consider before the budget hearing process begins April 15.

While residents are asked to use the Open Forum survey tool, which has the benefit of allowing other community members to read and consider all responses, the Council will also accept an e-mail response to the three questions listed above. Send an e-mail to: countycouncil@lacnm.us

It should be noted that the Plan does not exclude making progress on other, previously identified goals. The seven priorities were selected as especially urgent or challenging issues. They were chosen as a tool to help ensure that, in the context of on-going County efforts, a focus on a few hard and cross-cutting issues is maintained.

Link here to take the Open Forum on line survey: https://www.opentownhall.com/7206

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