LONDONDERRY, Vt. – All members of the Londonderry community are invited to participate in the second phase of the One Londonderry process to set direction for the future of the town. The meeting, to be held virtually on Zoom Thursday, Feb. 25, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will follow up on the initial session held Feb. 3, which drew over 120 community members.
During the forums Feb. 3, residents met in engaging community focus groups to share their thoughts on topics of relevance in Londonderry including: Housing & Transportation; Economic Development, Jobs & Village Centers; Youth & Families; and Recreation, Health & Wellness. A visiting team of representatives from state, federal, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic agencies heard their ideas and will act as resources as the town moves forward on priorities that emerge through this process. Notes and recordings from the sessions as well as survey input can be found at www.bit.ly/OneLondonderry.
At the Feb. 25 meeting, residents will review the ideas shared and VCRD will facilitate a discussion where members of the community will advocate for causes of particular interest, and finally vote for issues they want to move forward in the coming year. The issues that are selected will become the focus of task forces in the future. On March 16, VCRD will host a final, action planning meeting with a resource team of state, federal, and nonprofit leaders to help the new task forces build action plans and resource connections to advance the priority projects.
All residents, whether they participated in the first session or not, are encouraged to join in Feb. 25 to vote for issues that will become the focus of working groups in the coming year. Mark your calendars and come play an active role in shaping your town’s future.
Jenna Koloski, community and policy manager at the Vermont Council on Rural Development, welcomes everyone in Londonderry to participate in this meeting to set priorities. She says, “VCRD and the visiting team were impressed and encouraged by the strong turnout, deep commitment to community, and concrete ideas shared Feb. 3. We look forward to this critical turning point in the process where the community decides which ideas to work on today. This is all about local voice, decision, and leadership.”
The Vermont Council on Rural Development is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing rural Vermont communities. For more information, contact Jenna at jenna@vtrural.org or for more information on the process, go to www.bit.ly/OneLondonderry.