In the past year alone, Fulton has experienced a tremendous amount of change: the city won $10 million from the state to revitalize its downtown, elected a new mayor for the first time in more than a decade, and started the process of building a series of multi-use trails throughout the city. Mayor Deana Michaels said that's why now is the perfect time to start writing a new narrative for the community.
"We're in a state of flux in a way and all of this change and excitement in leadership brings on all of this hope and all of this desire for more," Michaels said. "It's time for us to look and say what's our new identity?"
The last time the city enacted a comprehensive plan, which is essentially a document that establishes a vision for community development and lays out a roadmap for how to get there, was in 2003. Michaels said the new plan will focus on long-range objectives for areas like the economy, quality of life, and community growth while also reviewing the city's existing zoning, planning, and code enforcement policies.
"This process also allows for new opportunities that maybe the city hasn't thought of," Michaels said. "Let's write the narrative now so that we can attract more to our city and start changing the outcome to be more positive."
A committee comprised of community members will write the plan with advice from a consulting firm, seeking public input throughout the process. The goal, Michaels said, is for the committee to present a finished product to the Fulton City Council for a vote by next spring.
