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Vision study nears completion
Western Ouachita residents involved in the West 20/20 project could have a comprehensive plan for the future of western Ouachita completed by late fall.
West 20/20 is a community vision project spearheaded by the West Ouachita/West Monroe Chamber of Commerce, the city of West Monroe and the Louisiana Economic Development Corp.
The city of West Monroe agreed early in 2009 to help fund the $60,000 study to develop a comprehensive plan for western Ouachita Parish. The study is being led by Jay Garner of Garner Economics LLC in Atlanta, Ga.
West Ouachita/West Monroe Chamber president Mary Ann Newton said the community vision teams will convene throughout the next month to go over priorities for the comprehensive plan.
"From that, we will develop our plan of action," Newton said.
She said the group hopes to have the comprehensive plan completed by the end of October or first of November, but there is no definite timeframe for completion.
"I think we'll make that timeframe … the groups have been working really hard to get it done, but if we need a week here or there, that's fine," Newton said. "We want to make sure more than anything that we don't rush it just for the sake of meeting a deadline. We want to make certain it's the right plan."
The group has more than 50 participants from all sectors of the community working on the project. The group is comprised of community leaders, residents of western Ouachita and elected officials.
"They are the group of people who will decide what will go into the final plan," Newton said.
Once the comprehensive plan is finished, it will be presented to the community, she said.
Angela Kemper of Garner Economics LLC said people involved in the study have provided good input and have remained enthusiastic throughout the process. She met with the seven teams, comprised of the 50-plus participants, late last week to go over priorities and goals involved in the comprehensive plan.
"We've also gotten a lot of great community input and the dialogue between the teams has just been fantastic," Kemper said. "They have been very engaged and very energetic about looking to the future for west Ouachita. They've come up with a lot of good goals that will lead to specific planning.
"They will come up with a vision and a plan that will be presented to the community in late October or early November. Then, from that plan, they can begin answering the question of how they are going to do this. I think they are doing a tremendous job, but the teams have a lot of work to do between now and October or November."
In November 2008, the chamber formed a steering committee to help identify six areas of concern in western Ouachita that needed to be the focus of the study. Those six areas involved in the study included the role of local government, cultivating new leadership for the future; determining what needs to be done to enhance the qualify of life in western Ouachita; community development, which includes workforce training issues and determining the sites that are available for potential business; education; and marketing of the region.
The chamber then held several focus groups to receive input from a variety of people. The focus groups labeled certain characteristics of western Ouachita and also discussed issues facing the community.
Overall, people in the focus groups said western Ouachita was a community-friendly place and very family oriented while schools were pointed to as a plus in western Ouachita.
Since the project took off late last year, Newton said the chamber has received positive feedback from local residents who are "pleased we took the initiative to look at our future and decide what we need to do to better west Ouachita Parish."
She said once the comprehensive plan is completed, the local group must determine how western Ouachita Parish can fund and implement the proposals laid out in the plan.
"During this planning phase we hope to pick out three or five issues of importance and priorities, and then we'll take off with full steam ahead to make sure they are implemented," Newton said. "The last thing we want is another study that's just put on the shelf." |
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