The first round of public engagement for Licking County’s FRAMEWORK study began on October 3rd and continued into the beginning of December. To date, more than 3,000 community members have participated in some way. The engagement lays the groundwork for development of the study’s preliminary visions, objectives, and recommendations as well as its future character and land use plan.
FRAMEWORK representatives capitalized on existing networks through community groups, organizations, churches, educational institutions, local governments, and more for outreach. The FRAMEWORK planning team and volunteers played a vital role in spreading the word and relaying the importance of this opportunity to their own friends, families, coworkers, and neighbors.
Input was collected using in-person events and online engagement. FRAMEWORK representatives attended a series of outreach events and community events to spread the word about the process and generate engagement. Representatives presented information about the process including technical analysis and goals. They then asked attendees to provide their input using comment cards provided or through the online survey. The comment cards mirrored the online survey, presenting a key question with multiple answers the participant could choose. Participants at the community events answered the same key question using stickers or post-it notes. In all, representatives and volunteers attended 38 events throughout the county. Key stakeholders from all sectors were also interviewed as part of FRAMEWORK. More than 80 interviews were conducted to gain insight into critical topics.
Examples of comments received include:
- Economic Development: “This is a great opportunity for our community to ensure a lasting tax base that could benefit the citizens, schools, and public safety”
- Housing: “Our community needs additional, reasonable housing to handle our current needs plus our future needs”
- Jobs: “Having good jobs brings people to the community, which helps schools and housing improve in the community”
- Other: “Water, sewer, utilities as we grow”, “Health and safety of our community”, “Transportation options”
- Schools: “Our children deserve the best opportunities in their schools to succeed and grow. We need to make sure they have everything they need”
For more detailed information on the first round of public engagement and the stakeholder engagement, please see the Round 1 Engagement Memo and Stakeholder Interview Key Takeaways documents on the Resources page.