By Natalie M. Zeigler
City Manager
Among the many reasons city government work can be very exciting is the influence it has on the way we see the community around us.
We see the people, businesses, schools and infrastructure which exist here now, of course, but we also see many possibilities: opportunities for attracting new industries and organizations, or potential for new services, projects and beautification efforts. This way of looking at Hartsville leads to efforts like the Duke Center for Innovation in Hartsville, the project led by the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville which will help create new homegrown businesses here. The same point of view led us to develop the Piratesville Splash Pad at Byerly Park which will open this summer, a water play area providing another fun, local activity for children and families.
Of course, we in the City of Hartsville government are not the only ones who see potential directions for our community. Many of our residents also have ideas of what could be done to improve Hartsville, even if it has never been done before. On Monday, we are inviting the public to a meeting where they may share their ideas on economic development, civic planning, services and more, a time for anyone interested to truly take part in the planning of our city.
The public input session for the City of Hartsville's new master plan will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, April 22 at Mt. Calvary AME Church, 1106 S. Sixth St. Planning documents for our city's growth and evolution already exist, of course, including the "Hartsville 2020" plan created several years ago by the Hartsville Planning Commission. The new master plan, however, will go deeper than ever before in answering the question of what specific steps would develop and expand on the Hartsville community in ways which would benefit us all.
The Boudreaux Group of Columbia, which has been selected to create the master plan, has begun a yearlong process of gathering information from the public and from specific stakeholders like our local industries, schools and civic groups. At a later public meeting, they will share their findings and ideas so they can take in more input. When all work is done, they will provide a plan combining all input and research with professional design work, something which will inform the projects of the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville and the City of Hartsville for many years to come.
For many reasons, our city is a great place to live and work -- industry, education, recreation and culture -- but we only came to this point after a long history of always aiming higher and always planning what could come next. Join us this Monday if you would like, and help write the next chapter Hartsville's story.
