Antrim’s planning and community boards are holding a two-day Community Vision Event Friday, April 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Planning Board Chair Mark Murdough said the board is updating the master plan this year, and hopes the event will help gather community input.
Murdough said the master plan is a document of “guiding principles for the town to make decisions and make ordinances.” He said it’s recommended that the plan is updated every five to 10 years and Antrim is certainly “due for it.” When revising the master plan, Murdough explained that they are hoping to “condense it down to the really important items without losing intent” while making it more user-friendly.
“We want to make sure as a resident coming into town – [someone] can use and make sense of it,” said Murdough.
The Community Board, which Murdough said focuses on people in town, including networking, activities and volunteers, is hoping to create a vision statement, independent of the master plan, and will use the information gathered at the event to help write a guiding mission.
Murdough expects that the conversation at the Community Vision Event will touch on topics like conservation, such as shore land around Gregg Lake; housing, such as the Antrim Commons project planned for the Goodell Company Mill building; and small business initiatives.
After garnering input, the next step for the Planning Board will be to take a look at the current version of the “hefty” master plan.
“At that point, we’ll have to break it down and see what information we have and what seems to rise to the top of the list,” Murdough said.
New residents, people in neighboring communities, temporary residents and summer residents are welcome. Murdough expects to see people who work in Antrim as well as live there.
“Any input is welcome,” he said. “I’d like to do it possibly once a year if feasible. I think it’s a good way to keep a pulse on what we should be doing.”