Document text
Citizens give Gold Hill thumbs up in poll Two dozen people say they like what the city is doing on police protection and changes downtown By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune According to residents and business owners polled this month, Gold Hill is headed down the right track. Two dozen citizens interviewed in a survey said they approved of the city�s efforts in downtown development and police protection and applauded the involvement of Can-DO, a community development organization. The interviews are the first phase of a downtown planning project funded by a $15,000 grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. The survey is being conducted by Medford communications specialist Sue Densmore and partners Jeff Pashman and former county administrator Burke Raymond. The group plans to present its results to the City Council and Can-DO members at 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at City Hall. The city will use the information to help plan downtown development and find funding to achieve goals. "We need to look at the best ways to plan things like choosing and preparing a site for the new library and (working) with ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) to upgrade sidewalks and storm drains during the Highway 99 project," said Densmore. "We�ll develop a schematic of all the opportunities out there and figure out how they overlap and how to get them done." The first goal, she said, was to gather a wide sampling of community input. "We talked to citizens from all walks of life such as longtime residents, new residents, business owners, schoolteachers, people from the historical society," she said. The group plans to talk to a total of 40 people. Densmore said responses from the first half were positive. "So far, we are finding that people are very supportive of the new attitude they�re starting to see in Gold Hill. "They feel good about the new mayor and the businesslike and calm direction the city is beginning to take," she said. The group will hold public meetings on their findings beginning in March. In addition to the planning project, Densmore�s group will create a financial model to be used at the state level to portray the special financial struggles of a small city. An $8,500 community block grant was awarded by the OECDD to complete the financial model project. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.