Group studies city facilities for comprehensive plan update

The streets, sidewalks, police department, fire department, ambulance, health care facilities, education, parks, city government and even the city's charter form of government and whether the current form of government is working and does it need to be changed,

These are just some of the things the community facilities focus group will be looking at over the next few months.

This is one of five sub-committees that have been formed by the comprehensive plan update committee to help the planning commission and ultimately the Nevada City Council update the city's comprehensive plan, which was completely redone in 1984 and last updated in 2002.

The comprehensive plan if used correctly provides a guide for the future development of the city.

"We are charged with this section of the comprehensive plan," Carol Branham, sub-committee chairman, said during the group's second meeting on Monday evening, when they started inventorying the city's programs, facilities and services.

With such a wide scope of items to look at they were only able to get part of the way through the inventory process Monday and will continue when they meet at 5:30 p.m., May 11 in Nevada Public Library meeting room, 218 W. Cherry Street.

Branham told the committee that their meetings will be open to the public and that they are looking for input from the public, as well as city staff who work in the various departments they are looking at.

"It's not my plan, it's not the city's plan -- It's the community's plan. It can't be that without the public," she said.

The role of this sub-committee, as well as, the other sub-committees, the comprehensive plan update committee, the planning commission and the city council is to look 20 to 30 years into the future and try to determine what the community's needs will be then.

"I've had a lot of positive feedback -- that tells me that people want to be involved and be heard," Branham said.

When the sub-committee finishes inventorying all of the facilities, they want to meet with representatives from each of the city departments and other agencies they are researching.

Branham said that those are the people who know the most about what each department or agency needs and how it functions.

"We need to visit with city staff. I know they haven't been encouraged to talk to us," she said.

"They need to be available," she said.

When the committee meets May 11, they plan to setup a timeline of when they want to look at each of the areas they are charged to research and try to have representatives from one or two agencies meet with them on specific dates on that time-line.

To help them to look at all of the different areas they are assigned they plan to establish sub-groups and have each sub-group meet with different representatives and then tour their facility.

For example, when they meet with people from the library, they plan to go on a tour of the library to see the facility. The same with the Nevada Housing Authority, and the parks department.

"The seven of us can't do this without a lot of input," Branham said.