Director Stevens told the committee that the city will host an in-person open house for the Gardner Master Plan in late October or early November, likely at Perry Auditorium. The event is planned as an evening open house around 6–7 p.m. to give residents a chance to review inventory and assessment findings and offer feedback.

Stevens said his department reviewed the land-use and economic-development sections of the Barrett Planning Group inventory and routed other sections—housing, transportation, resources—to the appropriate city departments. He said staff will notify city councilors once the date is finalized.

On the Hazard Mitigation Plan, Stevens said his department reviewed chapters 3 and 5 (risk assessment for community assets and community capabilities) and sent outstanding comments to Weston & Sampson, the consulting firm. Stevens said the city held a public information session on Sept. 18 that was advertised on social media and the city homepage but attracted no attendees. He said he plans to hold a second session to solicit required public input.

Committee members urged continued outreach and praised staff for pursuing a second session. Chair Kazantzis and committee members emphasized that public participation is “an invaluable resource” and that staff should continue efforts to schedule a broadly attended meeting.

Stevens said he will reach out to councilors with the finalized open-house date and will circulate the master-plan materials and any future session dates.