Unalaska, AK – The City of Unalaska is trying to develop a new ten-year strategic plan. With the help of the firm HyettPalma the city is collecting the community's visions on what Unalaska should be like in 2020. The planning firm held meetings last week with different community groups, including industry players, nonprofits, and students, and hosted a town hall meeting.

During the town hall meeting, community members took the opportunity to share what they want to see in Unalaska. One priority is making more affordable housing. Other community members focused on improving educational opportunities, like vocational education. A lack of transportation infrastructure was also seen as an issue. People want paved roads, bike paths, more reliable plane and luggage service, and more ferry service. They also want a large, multipurpose community space for functions and sports and a clinic that can deliver babies. One person suggested a substance abuse rehab facility and a detox center. Many people thought Unalaska should focus on aesthetic improvements as well, like getting rid of junk cars. Other ideas were more fanciful, like building a mall with a movie theater.

One of the planners, Doyle Hyett, said these ideas can come to fruition. He and his partner developed their first strategic plan for Unalaska in 1991 and then another in 2001.

"Of all the clients I've served in all the 50 states and the DC in the course of the last almost 40 years of my career, I've never worked with a community like this," he said. "One where the community does almost everything they plan and then they add to that, things that come up during the process of implementation of those plans."

Developing the plan involves gathering public input through meetings then distributing a survey. All of the ideas are worked into a plan that lays out what needs to be done to accomplish the goals and in what order. The city will then use this as the basis for their comprehensive plan.

"You haven't had an update of your comprehensive plan here since 1993. And that's unheard of in today's age, particularly for a community that's growing as fast as you are," Hyett said. "So what the city council wants us to do is to take that vision that we render with you, which we'll have finished by the end of the year, and let that be the foundation of the update of the comp. plan. In other words, everything that comes from this point forward from the planning perspective, let it come from the vision of the people."

He said this is a unique way to drive community development. The plan will be presented to the community early next year. Hyett encourages community members to participate in the upcoming survey and help shape Unalaska's future.