Wednesday, September 8, 2010

A Once in a Lifetime Adventure

Residents of the Vinton Community have always felt a deep connection to the historic Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. There will be some legislation soon to change the focus of the school and move away from its residential program. Recently, some students from the Braille School were given an airplane ride at the Vinton Veterans Memorial Airport. This was a great service by the pilots who offered the rides - giving the kids an experience that few of us would even realize they would enjoy. To see the story about the rides, click here.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Planning for the Future

This past legislative session, the state legislature passed a bill that was promoted by the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) and called for local government to use 12 smart planning principals when planning for development. Because of this, the RIO is making a grant available to share in half of the cost for a comprehensive plan using these principals. Comprehensive plans are, by definition, comprehensive and cover a lot of areas in a city when it plans for future growth.

The City of Vinton is looking at several economic development opportunities. The chance to develop a comprehensive plan could not come at a better time for us. We will involve the general public in the plan development, but the planning process will largely be governed by our planning and zoning commission and city council. Look for advertisements about future community meetings about this plan. It will be your opportunity to help guide our city in the direction you feel it should grow.