(Host) The Vermont Council on Rural Development has launched a study about the future of the state.
Organizers say the goal is to understand Vermonters’ values.
They say that will help to inform policy discussions in the future.
Paul Costello is the director of the Council on Rural Development and the Council on Vermont’s Future.
(Costello) “We work with a lot of communities around the state. At ground level people are asking big questions. `Where are we going.’ They’re concerned about some of the fundamental challenges they’re facing as communities, working together toward the future. And they look at how they set priorities at the local level, outside of politics, and in ways that unite people in common action.”
(Host) This the fourth time in 80 years that a similar council has examined the future of Vermont.
Costello says his council is conducting surveys and town meeting-style gatherings to hear a variety of opinions.
The council will meet again on January third in Bennington. Other meetings are planned in communities throughout the state during the next year.