Woodfin Council gets six‑month update on strategic plan; communications subcommittee launches emergency card and 'Text My Gov' rollout

Town Manager Shannon gave the council a six‑month progress report on the Woodfin strategic plan adopted earlier in the year, highlighting work across six goal areas including town services, affordable living, transportation and infrastructure, police/community relations, facilities, and community partnerships.

Shannon summarized accomplishments and next steps across multiple objectives: policy updates, communication and outreach work, initial steps toward affordable‑housing options and manufactured housing outreach, restoration and mitigation work at parks (including Silver Line and Riverside), and work on town‑level emergency and resilience planning linked to potential redevelopment of town facilities.

She noted the town had not yet added or permitted new affordable units in the preceding six months, but staff are exploring funding sources such as CDBG disaster recovery funds and working with regional nonprofit partners. She also said the town is exploring options to redevelop town hall or the community center and to consider resilience features if reconstruction occurs.

On public safety, Shannon confirmed a new school resource officer is in place at Woodfin Elementary and that the department is pursuing accreditation under the North Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation program and reviewing defensive‑tactics training.

Separately, councilmember (subcommittee chair) presented the communications subcommittee’s first work product: a mission statement and an emergency resource card intended for household distribution. The subcommittee reported benchmarking the town website, making initial website updates, and that the town is implementing a mass notification and two‑way system (Text My Gov) to push emergency alerts and allow residents to opt in for further updates. The subcommittee also identified longer‑term improvements — social media strategy, mobile presence, and promotional opportunities tied to parks and the Greenway/Blueway project — and said it will revisit the website and communications plan periodically.

Council members asked about distribution and reach for the emergency card and raised questions about whether partner organizations (for example, Newbridge Baptist Church and ABCCM in other agenda items) serve primarily Woodfin residents; staff said some partner usage data is not currently collected but agreed to track and report where possible for transparency.

Shannon said staff will return to council with refinements and possible budget implications for expanded communication projects.