Results are in for the Chenango County 2050 Vision Plan. There were 645 survey responses with 13 “meetings in a box” with community input guiding the future of Chenango County. Recreational tourism, attracting and retaining business, public transportation, and interventions to break the cycle of poverty and drug use/addiction were among the community input. (Submitted photo)

CHENANGO COUNTY — It’s been less than a year since Chenango County authorized the development of a 2050 Vision Plan. An old plan expired in 2020 and officials wanted a new plan for the future. During public feedback, residents said one of the biggest concerns was public safety.

Director of the Chenango County Department of Planning and Development Shane Butler said when people don't feel safe, they don't want to engage with the community as much.

In meeting with local students at Norwich Central School District (NCSD), he said the students stated they do not feel safe going to the library.

“This is sad because of the educational opportunities they are missing, and access to computers when school is out of session, etcetera,” said Butler.

The Department of Planning and Development encouraged the public to participate in filling out surveys and to attend meetings with community input to address new technology and infrastructure needs and become more self-sustainable; while also super-charging the counties economy of the future.

Shane said the “Meetings in a Box” were created for groups like non-profit boards or committees, municipal boards, friend groups, families, etc. with community input guiding the future of Chenango County.

“There were 645 survey responses with 13 “meetings in a box,” Butler said. “When we had the meetings, one of the biggest concerns people talked about was the feeling of safety across the county.”

He noted some of the things that came out were respondents felt the greatest opportunity in Chenango County are recreational tourism, the people, natural resources, attracting and retaining businesses.

Other respondents felt the greatest weakness in Chenango County are drug use/addiction, crime, poverty, homelessness, lack of resources, and more.

Butler said a good deal of people would like to see more parks, trails, and recreational infrastructure, interventions to break the cycle of poverty, and public transportation improvement.

“We heard a lot of support for more recreational opportunities, specifically hoping more research was done to see if a rail trail would be feasible,” he said.

“We will be meeting with the County Planning Board on Tuesday for further discussions,” said Butler.

For more information or updates, visit Face Book at Chenango County Planning Department or go to the website co.chenango.ny.us/Planning/