Published: September 06, 2008 08:06 pm            

Cullman preparing 30-year roadmap

City Planner Jim Fisher held a community forum recently to discuss a proposed comprehensive plan for the City of Cullman.

“We’re developing a long range, comprehensive plan,” Fisher said. “We’re going to look down the road 30 years or so and anticipate things as best we can.”

Aspects of the plan include downtown revitalization, streetscaping, a proposed arts and culture center at the Grief Brothers property and expanded businesses downtown.

Fisher said he believes it is vital for the Cullman community to have a plan for growth.

“In most cases, the community that succeeds the most is the one that has given the most thought to the future,” he said.

The entire comprehensive plan proposal has been posted online at a new Web site called Cullman Tomorrow (http://www.cullmantomorrow.org).

Currently, the plan is only a proposal, Fisher said.

“What you see is a plan in process,” he said. “It’s a continuing, ongoing process. Nothing at all is official until the mayor and city council approve it.”

Fisher said one aspect he hopes to capture with the plan is to maintain a “small town” feel for Cullman as time goes on and the city grows.

“It’s been made clear by the public that they want to maintain the small town feel,” he said.

Projections noted in the proposal estimate the population of Cullman will nearly double in the next 30 years, to 34,000 people.

“We need to make sure all departments have an overall strategy for growth,” Fisher said. “We’re not trying to predict the future, we’re trying to project it.”

Feedback about the current proposal is more than encouraged, Fisher said.

“Please e-mail us,” he said. “We want feedback on this plan.”

Fisher can be contacted by e-mail at Planning@CullmanTomorrow.org.

The full proposal can be viewed at http://www.cullmantomorrow.org.

        

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