The surveys have been tallied and the suggestions taken into account, now it’s time to hear from the community as a whole. Perry County will hold a meeting to discuss the Courthouse Lawn Master Plan Nov. 16.
The meeting will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Perry County Courthouse with a brief presentation starting at 5 p.m.
“The whole key to the project is how to make what is already there better,” Perry County Clerk Jared Kutz said.
Kutz put out a county-wide survey during the month of October asking people what could be improved, if anything, as it pertains to the Perryville Courthouse lawn.
“We have several hundred responses and 30 percent are saying that it is fine just the way it is,” Kutz said. “That means that 70 percent of the community thinks it can be improved. That is the happy medium that we are trying to find. The responses have been amazing.”
The survey which consisted of 20 questions ranging from demographics, what events residents attend in Downtown Perryville, to what exactly they do when they are downtown when it pertains to shopping, eating, or matters of business.
“I think it is going to be interesting to see what people from Altenburg and the other parts of the county think such as Brewer or St. Mary,” Kutz said. “Is it any different from what residents of Perryville think?
Kutz wants to take the public input one step farther with the public meeting next week.
“We are trying to cover all of our bases,” Kutz said. “We understand that some people may fill out the survey and have their voices heard with the QR code and some may come to a meeting. You are going to have people that don’t do surveys, but will come tell you what they think. You are going to have some people who filled out the survey and are really passionate and want to talk more about it. It’s very healthy and that’s why we are doing this.
Kutz feels like this particular meeting is very important to how the project proceeds.
“We have had public meetings before, but this one is a different beast,” Kutz said. “This one is about the Perry County Courthouse, which means something to everyone that lives here and visits. It’s a landmark for this county.”
Kutz hopes that the meeting is well attended.
“We are not proposing to do something controversial,” Kutz said. “We are proposing to make something better than it is and not take away from the Courthouse. We have had people say that they love the grass, but can we do better things with it? We hope this meeting is well attended because we want to hear what everyone has to say.”
The Perry County Commission is also looking to get input from the community. Perry County Presiding Commissioner Mike Sauer would like to see as much public input as possible.
“We have a few ideas in mind of what we would like to see,” Sauer said. “But we want to know what the people think. It is as much their courthouse as it is ours.”
