Date:    January 14, 2008

Place:         Bradford Era Offices
Project:       City of Bradford Master Plan
Client:         City of Bradford
Time:          2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
MCF No.:    44506002

Attendees:
Marty Wilder, Editor, Bradford Era
Roberta Sarraf, Zoning/Planning Consultant
Albert Filoni, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Ken Lee, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Amy Maceyko, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.

Purpose:    To discuss the master plan process and get Ms. Wilder’s input on the area and the ways in which the newspaper could help the master plan process.

Items Discussed:

1. Mr. Filoni began by discussing the goals and the purpose of the master plan.  Studies in the past have focused on specific challenges instead of being a comprehensive plan for the whole Tuna Valley.  The goal of this process is to develop a series of actionable strategies that all three municipalities can endorse and to engage residents in the process so they will work together to improve the community after the planning process is over.  The planning team is meeting with as many groups as possible to understand the myriad of issues that affect all three municipalities and determine the best group of strategies for improving the quality of life in Bradford.  One of the major foci of all three municipalities is downtown Bradford and how to make it a more vibrant and inviting place for the benefit of the whole region.

2. The group discussed a bit of area history to improve the planning team’s understanding of Bradford in context.  Through the 30's and 40's, Bradford was an active boomtown.  There has been a consistent decline since then since that kind of activity is difficult to maintain.  And many residents still compare Bradford to what it used to be.  There were lots of stores and restaurants in the past.  The history of Bradford has also helped the area develop a very strong sense of community.

3. Vagrancy seems like a bigger problem than welfare.  There are a variety of social issues and similar vagrants have been found in other small towns in recent years, too.

4. Some residents are rather isolated and don't see how good things are in Bradford compared to other towns.

5. The creek has a reputation as a sewer because of past dumping by the oil and gas industry.

6. A concern about the local government is that it tends to be reactive instead of proactive.

7. The newspaper is willing to runs some articles about the master planning process and Ms. Wilder has been invited to join the steering committee.  She has visited the website and commented that it could be a little bit more user friendly and clear to get more people to use the site.  She also mentioned that “planner speak” should be avoided.

With no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned. The foregoing constitutes the major items accepted by the attendees.  If there are any additions or corrections to these minutes, please notify the Architect.


Respectfully submitted,

MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.

Amy P. Maceyko, AIA, LEED AP