MONTAGUE — Community input for the town’s planning of Millers Falls will continue this week with a public forum Thursday at 6 p.m. at Covenant Church, 19 Bridge St.
The meeting is part of a community-directed project of establishing development goals for Millers Falls. The project is coordinated by the town Planning Department, and is funded with a $15,000 grant for a consultant.
The project received its grant funding in February, and began in earnest in June with a survey of residents and business-owners that focused on how locals would like to use Millers Falls and what kind of development they would like town planners to pursue.
The project will continue with one more community meeting in September, plus a core group of volunteers will meet from August through October. It will culminate in early 2020 with a document that defines the community’s goals for Millers Falls. The document will guide municipal development of the area, and can be used by potential new businesses to demonstrate that their goals line up with the community’s, according to Cultural Coordinator Suzanne LoManto.
A similar but larger project was undertaken for Turners Falls in 2013, and the Planning Department still uses that document regularly, LoManto said.
This week’s meeting will focus on the results of the June survey. About 60 people responded, which LoManto said was a good turnout for a relatively small community with about 1,100 residents.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.