Sangerville Visioning Group discusses survey and community values

Contributed Article

 SANGERVILLE — The third meeting of the Visioning Group for Sangerville’s Future was held on Tuesday, June 30 in the town hall community room.

 With Chris Buchanan acting as facilitator, the group reviewed the notes from the last meeting and examined the results of the community survey that was sent to all town residents.

 The survey results indicated that air and water quality, open space and a peaceful grassroots and friendly community ranked the highest.

 Following up on the survey results, the group explored different themes, such as preservation of the town’s environment, maintaining open spaces and building on community involvement in civic affairs and developing additional ways in which all segments of the town can work together.

 The group discussed a number of ways to strengthen the values the community ranked highest.  Some kind of senior center was suggested. Developing a master plan for the expansion of the recreation fields into a community park was discussed.  The addition of a walking trail that could be used for snowshoeing in the winter and taking advantage of the existing shoreline was offered as a possibility to provide multigenerational activities on the property.

 Protecting these assets for future generations has implications for present actions that might be taken, such as ordinances on noise, land use, hazardous materials handling, fireworks, off-street apartment parking and how best to provide recreational opportunities for all ages.

 The next meeting of the group will be on Tuesday, July 28 in the town hall community room at 6:30 pm.

 All meetings of the group are open to everyone as there is no regular or appointed membership.  Residents are urged to attend one, many, any or all meetings to informally discuss the future direction for the growth and development of the town to guide the Sangerville Board of Selectmen over the next five years.