By Pam Conner, Community Development Director

The City of Powder Springs is pleased to announce that work on a community-wide assessment has begun. We want to thank Georgia Power, who is generously sponsoring this important work.

A community assessment is a compilation of data, trends, perceptions and recommendations as they relate to Powder Springs and our future. The final community assessment will identify and make recommendations on how we can:

• Build on our strengths
• Maximize our opportunities
• Improve upon our weaknesses
• Mitigate potential threats

A community assessment is a critical primary step to achieve sustained and meaningful growth in ways that meet the needs and expectations of our citizens. This means economic development, as well as in social and cultural development.

A community assessment also identifies where perceptions and reality do not match and makes recommendations on how to accurately market Powder Springs to businesses and residents.

The University of Georgia's Fanning Institute, a unit of public service and outreach, will complete the assessment over the course of the next four months. We anticipate the final report will be available in March.

The Fanning Institute supports the education, research and public service mission of the university by working in partnership with communities, organizations and leaders to identify, address, and resolve critical issues facing Georgia.

Fanning will utilize a number of tools and strategies to gather information that is accurate and representative of the entire community. A key component of this work is public participation. Through a survey, public meeting and personal interviews, we will hear from people who live and work in Powder Springs.

Please check out our website at www.cityofpowdersprings.org for updated details on how you can participate in this process, including a link to the survey that is available through Jan. 23.

Fanning is working with a visioning committee, made up of community members. Please feel free to contact any of these people if you'd like more information: Dr. Michael Rhett, Ken Prevatt, Liz Murphy, Dr. Jerry Dority, Pastor Snyder Turner, Nancy Arnold, Connie Bullock, Arlethia Perry-Johnson, Holly Bass, Michael Hughes, Dana Johnson, Brooks Mathis, Rick Goble, Dr. Chris Wizner, David Stewart, Pat Vaughn or Rick Eckert.

This work is being coordinated through the City of Powder Springs Community Development Department. You may contact Pam Conner or Tina Garver at 770-943-8001 for additional information.