(Seguin) — If you had a magic wand and could change anything about Seguin, what would that be? Before you answer that question, you should be reminded that the city of Seguin can’t give you magic powers, but it is giving you a chance to have your voice heard when it comes to talking about the future of the city and its downtown.
The city is in the process of developing two master plans. One comprehensive plan would focus on the entire city, and the second plan would just focus on the downtown area.
Public Information Officer Jennifer Sourdellia says both plans are vitally important to the city’s future.
“The city is just beginning the very initial stages of updating our long range comprehensive plan. We are also developing the city’s first downtown master plan. Both of these plans are going to help the city lay the groundwork for guiding how the city and our downtown district develop over the next 20 to 30 years,” said Sourdellia.
Sourdellia says they are asking every person to go online and participate in the surveys for both plans. She says this is an opportunity for you to help map out of the future of this city.
“As part of this process, we want residents to have a voice in both of these plans. We are asking them to participate in two interactive online surveys. These surveys are going to be available online until January 15. So residents have until then to complete the interactive surveys. There are two different project websites. One for the downtown master plan, and one for our comprehensive master plan. We would love for residents to participate in both of these surveys. Agains, the surveys are available on two different websites. The first one is www.planseguin.com, and the one for the downtown plan is www.planseguindt.com — “DT” that stands for downtown,” said Sourdellia.
Sourdellia says the surveys will give you a chance to not only have your voice heard, but to also have you beomce a real part of shaping this community for the next generation.
“Both of the surveys are going to ask residents different questions, specifically it will ask how they want to see Seguin in the future, how they see it today, (and) what they want to see Seguin become. Residents can give their thoughts about the current state of our downtown or the current state of our town in general, their vision for the city, and how the areas could be improved in the coming years. It doesn’t take very long to participate in the surveys. So we certainly hope that the public participates and gets involved with this planning process,” said Sourdellia.
Mayor Donna Dodgen is also encouraging those in the community to take these surveys. Dodgen says this work is important, and wants to ask each person in this community to participate. She says it all goes a long way in helping to determine Seguin’s future.
“The master plan and the comprehensive downtown plan are going to help (finding) our direction. How we want to be, and how we want to look. I want everyone to have a piece of that and to be a part of that,” said Dodgen.
Mayor Dodgen says these plans are meant to guide the city’s efforts moving forward, which is one of the reasons why public input it so important. She says if there are things you want to see improved or changed in Seguin, now is the time to speak up.
“I want everyone to remember that the goal is for our budget and our plan of work to speak to those things that we want to happen in the comprehensive plan and the downtown master plan. It will help us in (determining) what direction we want to go. We are growing, so let’s manage that growth. Let’s put it where we want it to go. That’s why I think being a part of this plan is so very important,” said Dodgen.
The surveys opened during the holiday season, and Dodgen says she knows that many families were unable to get around to taking them. Now that the new year has arrived, she says she hopes that people can find the time to take the surveys for the downtown plan and for the overall city comprehensive plan. Dodgen says all voices matter, and that’s why she wants to make sure that everyone is heard.
“I’m afraid that people right now are busy. The whole COVID issue is going on. And I’m afraid that they also think that ‘oh well, I may put my two cents into this — I may put my thoughts and what I want, but it won’t happen.’ I can promise you that everything that’s put in there is looked at and evaluated. So I don’t want people to think that we are just doing it to be doing it, because we actually are going to use that data and information to develop the plans,” said Dodgen.
The surveys will help really get the planning process rolling, but city officials remind the public that these plans will not be developed overnight. Sourdellia says the city wants you to get involved now, but they also want you to stay engaged in this process over the next year.
“This is going to be about a 15 month planning process. During this process, we will be hosting several opportunities for public involvement, such as public meetings and other engagement opportunities. We also want to remind everyone to be sure and follow our city social media pages for announcements about upcoming community involvement opportunties. Keep your eye on our social media pages, and see what’s going on,” said Sourdellia.
The city’s last comprehensive master plan was developmed in 2008. It is available online at seguintexas.gov if you’d like to see some of the work done at that time. This new plan will again focus on the entire city, but Dodgen says they also thought it was important to also develop a masterplan just for the downtown area.
The online surveys are available now. The websites also include details about the overall process that will be used to put together both plans. Each survey includes an interactive map, and provides you with a number of opportunities to discuss your feelings about Seguin and its future. Again, the surveys can be accessed at www.planseguin.com and www.planseguindt.com. The deadline to submit your surveys is January 15.