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Members of the Young Professional Society of West Central Louisiana got an oppportunity to view Plan Vernon Parish and provide input on their feelings of the plan.
The program, hosted by Haley Blakeman, Project Manager for the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), held an hour-long lunch presentation for members at Liberty Gardens outlining the plan and what the next steps were for the parish.
Blakeman said that many of the communites they visited in public meeting expressed the same views in that they wanted a combination of development and stability.
"They want the big city conveniences but keep the small town feel," Blakeman said.
Blakeman and fellow Plan Vernon Parish committee member Belinda Diehl said that the plan, throughout each of its stages, has been developed and geared toward residents' concerns and ideas.
"Our police jurors are behind this 100 percent," Diehl said. "They all want their grandchildren to be here. They don't want them all to leave."
Attendees from local businesses had the ability to ask questions of the plan and get answers to some of their concerns about the parish's future. Some asked about the funding and the process of the plan, while others said that recent attempts to plan in the community were hindered but not by funding.
"The follow through is what has been missing," Keeton said.
Audience members also expressed their opinions about what they felt was important through the plan, but many agreed that economic development was crucial to Leesville's success.
"I don't think some people realize just how important entertainment and shopping are to this area," Keeton said. "We don't have it here."
Attendees also asked if the public had the ability to stop the plan during its course if they felt it was not living to their standards. Blakeman said that public input would be relied upon throughout the process and that the plan could be changed if the public saw it necessary.
Public input is still being accepted for the project through Plan Vernon Parish's website, www.planvernonparish.org.
Members of the Young Professional Society of West Central Louisiana got an oppportunity to view Plan Vernon Parish and provide input on their feelings of the plan.
The program, hosted by Haley Blakeman, Project Manager for the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), held an hour-long lunch presentation for members at Liberty Gardens outlining the plan and what the next steps were for the parish.
Blakeman said that many of the communites they visited in public meeting expressed the same views in that they wanted a combination of development and stability.
"They want the big city conveniences but keep the small town feel," Blakeman said.
Blakeman and fellow Plan Vernon Parish committee member Belinda Diehl said that the plan, throughout each of its stages, has been developed and geared toward residents' concerns and ideas.
"Our police jurors are behind this 100 percent," Diehl said. "They all want their grandchildren to be here. They don't want them all to leave."
Attendees from local businesses had the ability to ask questions of the plan and get answers to some of their concerns about the parish's future. Some asked about the funding and the process of the plan, while others said that recent attempts to plan in the community were hindered but not by funding.
"The follow through is what has been missing," Keeton said.
Audience members also expressed their opinions about what they felt was important through the plan, but many agreed that economic development was crucial to Leesville's success.
"I don't think some people realize just how important entertainment and shopping are to this area," Keeton said. "We don't have it here."
Attendees also asked if the public had the ability to stop the plan during its course if they felt it was not living to their standards. Blakeman said that public input would be relied upon throughout the process and that the plan could be changed if the public saw it necessary.
Public input is still being accepted for the project through Plan Vernon Parish's website, www.planvernonparish.org.
