One Londonderry to hold community forums on town future

 

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, all members of the Londonderry community are invited to kick off One Londonderry: a community process to engage all residents in setting direction for a vibrant, prosperous and dynamic future. This process is a practical, pragmatic and facilitated way for residents to actively participate in reviewing challenges and opportunities facing the community, identify top priorities for action, and develop concrete action plans. This will also be an opportunity to bring both technical and financial resources to Londonderry to move priorities forward.

This first step in the One Londonderry process will be a virtual community forum to discuss assets, challenges and opportunities for action within four focus topics. Everyone is invited to join in on Feb. 3 to share ideas in forums on four topics, chosen by a steering committee representing people from various occupations and parts of town. Forum topics will include:

• Housing & Transportation;
• Youth, Families & Childcare;
• Recreation, Health & Wellness; and
• Economic Development, Jobs & Village Centers.

Participants can join on Zoom or by phone from 6 to 9 p.m. Public Wi-Fi is available in a safe, socially distanced setup, at the Town Office for those that need it.

Join for opening remarks, and then choose the breakout topics most important to you.

Forum Topics:

• 6 p.m. Opening Session: Welcome and Introduction to One Londonderry
• 6:20-7:35 p.m. Breakout Community Forum #1: Economic Development, Jobs & Village Centers or Youth, Families & Childcare
• 7:40-8:55 p.m. Breakout Community Forum #2: Housing & Transportation or Recreation, Health & Wellness
• 8:55-9 p.m. Closing Session: Thank you and Next Steps

Register to attend at the One Londonderry Home Page by clicking here.

In addition to online forums, ideas will be collected using an online survey by clicking here and paper surveys are available at the South Londonderry Free Library, the Londonderry Town Office, and at Mike & Tammy’s Main Street Deli.

Step 2 of One Londonderry will be a Community Meeting on Feb. 25 where all residents will be invited to champion action ideas, set priorities, and have the option to sign up for task forces to take on each chosen priority initiative. VCRD will return in March 16 for Step 3, One Londonderry Resource Day to help support the work of the new task forces with technical and financial resources as they create action plans to move their priorities forward.

The process is produced by Vermont Council on Rural Development, which was invited to the community by the  Londonderry Select Board. VCRD is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Vermont communities.  The One Londonderry community visit is funded with support from the Vermont Community Foundation and the Northern Borders Regional Commission.