Colchester Heritage Project Final Report - January 2012
Steering Committee Finalizes Colchester's Vision Statement on January 19, 2011
"Colchester, Vermont located on Lake Champlain’s Malletts Bay is a diverse, civic-minded community endowed with a rich heritage of commercial, agricultural, recreational, and educational gifts. Proud of the quality of life already enjoyed here, the people of Colchester seek to build upon this foundation to ensure economic prosperity, recreational opportunity, and an entrepreneurial spirit for future generations."
Purpose of this Project
Colchester, VT is a suburban community with a diverse geographic area, varied demographic base, and competing needs. While considered a fast growing Town for Vermont, the Town’s tax base is neither diversified nor robust enough to sustain equal growth in its municipal resources and services. Recent poll results indicate voter dissatisfaction with the tax rate and the need to minimize expenses and budget in a transparent and inclusive manner.
As a result of the lack of a core vision and strategic plan there is little consistency in the overall policy direction of the Town. A recent efficiency study conducted by Evergreen Consulting observed that in discussions with the Select Board, employees, and citizens, most had a different idea of the ideal direction for the Town. In addition, Colchester lacks a strong identity since it does not have a community vision to support. By developing a plan to create and validate a community vision, the Town will be able to gather insights from key stakeholders (i.e., Select Board, community members, community organizations, town employees, citizens) and establish an image that they would like the Town of Colchester to embody.
The community vision should have both a macro-level approach (community-wide) while incorporating micro-level subcomponents (government level). From this community vision, a ten-year town-wide strategy will subsequently be developed to establish priorities for the Town that will confirm the Town’s mission, vision, and values as well as assemble goals and priorities for the Town.
Broad public input from residents and those who work here is essential to establish a vision that will inspire and inform our efforts and that reflects who we are and what we propose to become.
As a result of the lack of a core vision and strategic plan there is little consistency in the overall policy direction of the Town. A recent efficiency study conducted by Evergreen Consulting observed that in discussions with the Select Board, employees, and citizens, most had a different idea of the ideal direction for the Town. In addition, Colchester lacks a strong identity since it does not have a community vision to support. By developing a plan to create and validate a community vision, the Town will be able to gather insights from key stakeholders (i.e., Select Board, community members, community organizations, town employees, citizens) and establish an image that they would like the Town of Colchester to embody.
The community vision should have both a macro-level approach (community-wide) while incorporating micro-level subcomponents (government level). From this community vision, a ten-year town-wide strategy will subsequently be developed to establish priorities for the Town that will confirm the Town’s mission, vision, and values as well as assemble goals and priorities for the Town.
Broad public input from residents and those who work here is essential to establish a vision that will inspire and inform our efforts and that reflects who we are and what we propose to become.
The Colchester Selectboard is solidly behind the Heritage Project and Al, Voegele, Colchester's Town Manager is very supportive of the effort. Below are his comments published in the Colchester Sun, Colchester's weekly newspaper.
Town Manager's Column in The Colchester Sun October 2010
At the two 'Visioning' session in early December, Al Voegele and Sarah Hadd presented some basic information about Colchester as a backdrop for the small group brainstorming sessions.
