The city adopted its 2022-23 work plan, which resulted from the Banks City Council’s annual retreat that took place in February.
“This is written out in a nice fancy way again,” Mayor Stephanie Jones quipped at the March 8 city council meeting.
The Council Work Plan focuses on the council’s objectives in the year ahead: planning for sustainable growth, managing resources, providing community services, projects that focus on maintaining a safe community, increased opportunities for residents, and livability.
The work plan was developed throughout 2021 by Banks city councilors who listened to the concerns and feedback of citizens, business owners, task forces, committee members, and neighborhood associations regarding what they would like to see in their community.
Some projects are temporary and get completed by year’s end, while others become annual or ongoing projects that span many years, the plan says.
The plan includes the Banks Vision 2037 Plan, which contains action items that came from recommendations brought forth in 2017. These include recognizing and building three district districts called Southtown, Mid-town, and the Historic District with Commerce Street being considered part of downtown.
It would create new streetscapes and upgrades along Main Street, and build a new public multi-use plaza as a community visitor center that connects Main Street to the new westside urban growth boundary developable lands.
The city plans on setting new standards and developing subsequent city codes for commercial structures specific to each of the three planned districts, as well as for new industrial spaces, and to continue along the path of becoming a destination city for trails and recreation by creating new trailhead opportunities.
The city also included in the work plan a roadmap previously laid out for 2018 to 2023 that included developing adequate housing, creating local jobs, enhancing the vibrancy of Main Street, and boosting tourism.
Bringing broadband options to Banks also is a city objective and it is exploring provider options, researching funding options, working to partner with other local agencies, and exploring the hiring of a consultant to assist with and manage the project, all of which would be paid for out of the city’s general fund.
City officials also plan to update the master parks plan, the water master plan, and the transportation master plan. The City Work Plan estimates the cost of updating all three to be between $175,000 to $225,000.
The work plan is on the city’s website and is available to read here.
