A Program for Community Assessment & Improvement€¦ · In the final section of the report the...
Transcript of A Program for Community Assessment & Improvement€¦ · In the final section of the report the...
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AProgramforCommunityAssessment&ImprovementExecutiveSummary-Hebron,Connecticut
ConductedbythevisitteamfromDurham,ConnecticutJuly17,2018
Introduction
TheFirstImpressionscommunityexchangeprogramwasdesignedtohelpcommunitieslearnabouttheirstrengthsandshortcomingsthroughtheeyesoffirst-timevisitors.Volunteerteamsundertakeunannouncedvisits,recordobservations,andgiveconstructivefeedbacktotheexchangecommunity.Thesereportsareoftenusedaspartofbroadercommunityassessmentorplanningprocessestoinformcommunitypolicyandaction.Thefollowingisanoverviewofthehighlightsandre-occurringthemesofthevisitonJuly17,2018andadebriefluncheonwithbothteamsheldonOctober4,2018.Additionaldetailcanbefoundintherawdatareportsavailablefrommembersofthevisitteam.
OnJuly17,2018,awarm,partlysunnyTuesday,ninevolunteersfromDurham,ConnecticutvisitedHebron.Theteamwasgenerallyexpecting“…atownverysimilartoours.Iknowthatbothtownswereincorporatedinthesameyearandhaveagriculturalfairs."and"acommunitythathasplannedforthefutureandunderstandsthevalueofpreservingtheirpast.”MembersoftheteamknewaboutHebronprimarilythroughtheironlineresearchbutsomealsohadpreviouscontactwithtownstaff.Priortothevisittheteamconductedsomeonlineresearchofthewebsiteswww.hebronct.com,theHebronHistoricalSociety,andHebronPublicSchoolsaswellassocialmediasearches,onlinedataandtourismsites.Theteamfoundthetownwebsitetobeeasytouse,usefulanduptodatenoting“fabulous”“wellorganized”with“…tonsofinformationandveryuserfriendly.”Facebookpageswereusefulbutdidnotincludeasmuchtimelyinformation.Theteam’soverallimpressionbasedononlineresearchwasthatHebronisalivelycloseknitcommunitythatis“morethanjustafarming/bedroomcommunity”andis“focusedoncommunityandfuturegrowth.”Intheonlineresearch,andinthereportandthroughoutthediscussionstheDurhamteamnotedHebron’ssignificantcommitmenttoplanningevidencedbya“greatPOCD[PlanofConservationandDevelopment]thatisveryclearandeasytoreadandthebestlandusemapIhaveeverseen.”
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FirstImpressionsVisit
Forthefirsttenminutesofthevisit,theteamwasaskedtodrivearoundtownfromvariousentrances.TheteamenteredviaRoute66fromtheeastandwestaswellasviaRoute85fromtheAmstonarea.Theirfirstimpressionswereofalively,well
maintained“cutemainstreet,”accessedalong“beautifulcountryroads.”Onemembernoted“TherewerealotofcommerceoptionsalongMainStreetfordining,retailandotherservices.”“IhadtheimpressionthatMainStreetCommercemustbesupportedbyothercommunitiesbecauseitlookslikemorethanatownthissizecouldsupport.”Theteamfoundsimplesignage,beautifulinscaleandappearancebutfoundsignagetobelimitedorlackingatsomeentrances.“TheblueHebronflagscombinedwiththenumerousUnitedStateflagsdisplayedallovertownevokesafeelingofcommunitycontinuityandpride.”Overalltheteamfeltaddingflowersorwelcomebannerscouldmakethedowntownareafeelmorewelcoming.
TheteamencounteredadiversemixofnewerandolderbuildingswithmosthousingoutsideoftheMainStreetarea.Adiverserangeofwell-maintainedhousingoptionswasobservedandtheDurhamteamwasparticularlyinterestedinlearningmoreaboutthebeautifulnewseniorhousingcomplex.Theynotedthatmanyofthenewerbuildingshadmaintainedahistoricstyle
toalignwiththehistoriccharacterofolderbuildings.Overalltheteamwassurprisedbythesignificantvarietyofrestaurant,retail,andservicebusinessesforatownofHebron’ssizeavailableintheVillageShoppesandMainStreet.Whiletherewerefewstoresnotedasdestinationsorthatwoulddrawtourism,oneteammembernoted“Ifeltthatyoucouldfindmostthingsthatyouwouldneedonadailybasis.”Thestorestheteammembersvisitedhadgoodmerchandiseselection,tidywindowdisplaysandgoodcustomerservice.
ItwasclearbasedonthenumberoffarmsandfarmstandsthatagriculturestillplaysasignificantroleinHebronBothcommunitiesfeltanincreasingtensionbetween“Whatwewanttopreserveandtheneedtogrowthegrandlisttoservetheneedsandwantstoresidents.”GiventhepresenceoftheAirlineTrailandGayCityStatepark,theHebronFair,existingfarmsandtheCountryStorepromotingparks,agricultureandoutdoorrecreationalcouldbeanopportunityalthoughtheteamnotedaccommodationswerenoteasilyfoundcloseby.
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Inthedebriefmeetingwithteammembersfrombothcommunities,theneedforaswellascommunityoppositionto,sewerinfrastructurecameupasasignificantpointofdiscussion.Someteammembersnotedthatresidentsfearinfrastructureimprovementscouldresultinbeing“pavedformendto
end”andcompromisethehistoricandagriculturalcharacterofthecommunity.Bothcommunitiessharedtheirexperiencesincludingresidentialandcommercialrates.ForHebronthisissignificantwithregardtopotentialforadditionallightindustrialdevelopment.Thevisitteamdidnotobservemuchindustrialdevelopmentandwonderediftherewouldbesignificanttrafficorhighwayaccesstowarrantthis.
Overalltheteamwas"pleasantlysurprisedbyallthatHebronhastooffer."Whenaskedaboutthemostoutstandingfeatureteammembersresponded"theforesightthistownhastakeninpreparingforthefuture.Lovedthattheyhavegoalsandobjectiveslaidoutforeachportionofthetown.Planningaheadforthemulti-useareadowntownisagreataccomplishment”“Youappeartotaketimeandenergytocreateavisionforwhatyourcommunitywillbeinthefuture.FromwhatIcantellthisisfromthecommunityinvolvementinyourplanningprocessesandgoodleadershipfromyourgovernmentandcommissionleaders.Keepupthegoodworkandbeproudofwhatyouhavedone.GreatthingsarestillaheadforHebron!"
Wrapup
Inthefinalsectionofthereporttheteamwasaskedtosumitallupwiththefollowingquestions:
Listthepositivethingsyouobservedaboutthiscommunity(noparticularorder):1.Coordinatedplanningandgrowthmanagement2.Enthusiasticandfriendlyresidents-communitypride,faithandcivicorganizations3.Widevarietyofbusinessesandservicesoffered4.CoordinatedcommunitypromotionWhatarethepotentialopportunitiesavailabletothiscommunity?(noparticularorder):1.Attractingnewresidents-housingexpansion2.Capitalizeonagriculturalareasforeconomicdevelopment3.Improvefacadesandsignageinsomeareas
“Hebronseemslikeitwasafarmingcommunitythatnooneknewaboutthensuddenlythepopulationshiftedandthischangewasmanagedwell.”
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Whatarethebiggestobstaclesorchallengesfacingthecommunity?(noparticularorder):1.Lackofnightlife2.Physicalandeconomicisolation-slowgrowth3.Provisionofpublicutilitiesandinfrastructure TheteamsfromDurhamandHebronmetonOctober4,2018toinformallysharetheresultsoftheirvisits.Theybothfeltthisprogramwasagreatlearningopportunityanddiscussedseveralimportanttopicsincludingtheneedforfundingof,andcommunityresistancetosewerinfrastructureasapre-requisitefordevelopment,organizationalsupportfortowncenterdevelopment(includingHebron’s“TownCenterProject”),attractinglightindustrialdevelopment,thebenefitsofchallengesofhavingfullorpart-timeplanningstaffaswellasstyleoftowngovernance(DurhamhasaFirstSelectpersonandHebronaTownManager).Theyalsolearnedsomethingabouttheirowncommunitybyparticipatinginthisprogram.Theteamsenjoyedmeetingeachotheratthewrapupluncheonandlearningmoreabouttheirfirstimpressions.Theyhopetomaintainthisconnectionandtocontinuetolearnfromeachotherinthefuture.TeammembersrepresentingDurham:TinaGossner,JanetMorganti,LindaTorres,LauraFrancis,FrankDeFelice,CherylSalva,NancyCuomo,GeoffColgrove,andJosephPasquale.TeammembersrepresentingHebron:JohnGuszkowski,JimCelio,GerryGarfield,TroyKelsey,JohnCollins,andMichaelD’Amato.
This report was prepared October 2018 by Laura Brown, UConn Extension based on raw data from team visits and notes from the community debrief session held on October 4, 2017. For more information visit
http://communities.extension.uconn.edu/connecticut-first-impressions-program/