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An important date is coming up in the January calendar and we urge you to write it down — Jan. 15.

That is the date of an open house that will give visitors an opportunity to interact with the Comprehensive Plan 2045, a joint effort between Mower County and the City of Austin. The event will take place at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center at 4-6 p.m.

So what makes this opportunity so important? For that, we have to start with what a comprehensive plan is in the first place.

The plan is in essence a vision of an achievable future for a better community and takes into account the viewpoints of those living and working within the communities the plan covers. In this case it’s both the county and Austin, who came together because so much of what will be looked at will generally be overlapping, with decisions in one camp having a possible effect on the other.

At the same time, each plan will also have its individual component for specific ideas each entity wants to address.

As was explained in December announcement press release: “The comprehensive plans will serve as a tool for all community members, including residents, government staff, elected officials, business owners and community organizations.”

The plans developed through this process will look at existing challenges and will follow that by setting guidelines and policies for the future vision with a lasting impact across the next 10 to 20 years.

That’s why it’s important for the public to be involved in this process. During the Jan. 15 open house, people will also have the opportunity to take a second survey on the plans, providing further opportunity to be involved.

This isn’t only plans for a city or a county. These are plans for all those who live within their respective borders and as we as citizens will inevitably be the benefactors of any future betterment plans, it’s inherently important that we take part in this process in whatever way we possibly can.

Input becomes essential in taking into account what the future could be. In this circumstance, the singular common vision is wanting a better tomorrow, but to do that it will require, perhaps somewhat paradoxically, the combined and differing visions of those of us who will benefit from this effort.

These plans will take work and once set will require an ongoing effort, adding emphasis to the import of being involved on a singular level.

Please take the time to learn more about the plans at this open house and if you can’t, there is opportunity to learn more at www.compplan2045.com.