Gahanna launches round-one public engagement for 10-year strategic plan with table talks and online survey
Loading...
Summary
City staff and Planning Next outlined a multi-month strategic-plan process and invited residents to participate in small-group "table talks" or an online survey in January; officials aim to engage about 1,000 people and will report initial results to the steering committee in March.
The City of Gahanna has begun the first public-engagement round for a 14-month strategic-plan effort, city staff said during the Jan. 13 committee meeting. The outreach centers on small-group “table talks” and an online survey intended to inform a community vision for the next decade.
"Round 1 public engagement will help to inform the future vision of Gahanna," Director Volmer said, describing table talks as “highly interactive small group workshop[s],” typically held in groups of about 10 people. The city and its consultant, Planning Next, will also offer an online “table talk” survey that mirrors the in-person session for residents who cannot attend.
City staff listed three open table-talk sessions in January: Jan. 16, Jan. 25 and Jan. 29, and a joint city-council-and-planning-commission session scheduled for Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. The city has posted sign-up and survey links on the project website. Staff and steering-committee members will facilitate the sessions and will collect demographic information at the end of each session via a QR code to help ensure representative participation.
Volmer said staff hopes to engage “over a 1000 people” in the process. She also acknowledged early participation was low — “under 100” so far — but said Planning Next expects participation to increase as efforts move past the holidays and weather-related cancellations. Staff said the engagement timeline may be extended into early February if necessary to meet targets.
Planning Next will aggregate answers from table talks and the survey, identify themes, and share a subset of findings with the steering committee; Volmer said the committee will shape those themes into an overall vision. The steering committee will report back on results in March and round-two engagement is planned to begin in April.
City staff encouraged community groups, the school system, businesses and boards and commissions to host or request a facilitated table talk; printed postcards and QR codes are being distributed to boost participation. The city’s project website contains a calendar of sessions, background information and an online survey.
Next steps: Planning Next will compile January’s data, the steering committee will convene to identify themes and a March update to council is expected to present initial findings.
