Reminder: Murfreesboro wants to hear from you

Aug 18, 2014 at 03:15 pm by bryan


The City of Murfreesboro wants to hear from citizens as part of the process to develop its 20-year comprehensive plan. Murfreesboro City Manager Rob Lyons told WGNS that a city wide comprehensive plan will help guide the city into the future...

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The community kickoff meeting, the first of three public meetings for Murfreesboro 2035, has been scheduled at World Outreach Church, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. World Outreach is located at 1921 New Salem Road, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37128.

"We're excited about the process the City of Murfreesboro is about to undertake. Our goal is to continue to make Murfreesboro one of the best places in the country to live, work and play," said Mayor Shane McFarland. "This plan will help us prepare for our future and address Murfreesboro's needs for many years to come."

Organizers will collect input from the public about goals and objectives for the long-term plan. The meeting will be in a workshop setting, allowing participants to provide comments and recommendations needed to establish how the City will proceed with public policy decisions regarding Murfreesboro's quality of life, community character, and growth capacity. The goal of the community kickoff is to engage citizens and gather ideas as part of the process.

A joint-meeting of the City Council and the City Planning Commission has also been scheduled for 5 p.m. the following evening, Thursday, August 21st, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 111 West Vine St., to discuss the comprehensive plan process.

Murfreesboro citizens are encouraged to sign-up for the Murfreesboro 2035 newsletter to stay informed about upcoming events and learn about new ways to contribute to the process online by visiting www.2035newsletter.com. The Murfreesboro 2035 discussion forum officially launches, Monday, August 18, 2014. The online discussion forum will be established to solicit online and mobile device engagement. The discussion forum website located at www.murfreesboro2035.com will create a safe, easy-to-use environment for people to participate from the convenience of their computer or mobile device.

On July 11, 2014, the City Council unanimously approved a professional services contract agreement with Texas-based Kendig Keast Collaborative (KKC) to develop a comprehensive plan for the City. The plan will identify and plan for the City's goals and objectives. KKC estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to complete. In addition to citizen input, the plan will include the appointment of a task force from a broad cross-section of citizens.

"We've done a number of plans in the past," said City Manager Rob Lyons, "Including land use plans for Salem, Blackman and Maney Avenue, and plans for wastewater facilities, a Major Thoroughfare Plan, and more, but this is the first plan since 1987 that will look at the entire community as a whole. It will also include substantial input from the entire community in developing a comprehensive plan for this growing city."

KKC has proposed both a high-tech and high-touch approach to engaging the community in the process, including a grassroots marketing campaign, community meetings, outreach efforts, workshops and the use of technology to gather citizen input. The plan elements include major functions of the City, including transportation, land use, housing and neighborhoods, parks and recreation, public facilities, historic preservation, and economic development with a focus on population growth and infrastructure. The plan also will provide guidance on formation of a unified development code, parks and recreation master plan, and a water resources integration plan.

In addition to KKC spearheading project development, subconsultants include Neel-Schaffer, Inc., who will be focused on transportation planning and stormwater drainage-related issues, and Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., who will focus on utilities infrastructure capacities and improvements. Kendig Keast Collaborative is a national planning firm. Neel-Shaffer, Inc. is a national engineering firm with offices in Murfreesboro. Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. is a national engineering firm headquartered in Nashville.

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