This memo is to certify “The Vision for Hamilton County’s Future” (attached) to all affected jurisdictions in Hamilton County. The vision -- 12 Comprehensive Goals, Four Core Goals and 22 Objectives -- is the first element of Community COMPASS – The Comprehensive Master Plan and Strategies for Hamilton County.

The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission (RPC) approved “The Vision for Hamilton County’s Future” on February 6, 2003. At the request of the Hamilton County Township Association, RPC initiated reconsideration after its initial approval. RPC accepted the Township Association recommendation and finalized all revisions on April 3, 2003. The RPC approval followed consideration of recommendations from 11 Community Forums, the Countywide Town Meeting, and additional deliberation at public meetings of Action Teams, Elected Officials’ Roundtables, Steering Team and the Planning Partnership, as well as recent RPC public hearings.

The unanimous approval of “The Vision for Hamilton County’s Future” by the Planning Partnership and Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission provides a strong message to the citizens of Hamilton County that our individual governments have worked together to identify a collective vision for which our entire community must be accountable. The whole community -- public, private and civic sectors – shares responsibility for the desired results in Hamilton County’s vision. RPC’s approval does not constitute any specific agreement or mandate for implementation, funding or policy change. Therefore, accountability for community-wide results (i.e., COMPASS Goals and Objectives) is not assigned to any one individual organization or level of government.

Instead, COMPASS creates a coordinated framework for voluntary incremental actions by many potential partners -- organizations that accept responsibility for implementing one or more COMPASS strategies. Municipal, township and county departments are only a few of many potential implementation partners.

Now that we have consensus on desired community results, the next step in the COMPASS process is to define success in more measurable terms – to identify community results indicators that gauge the community’s progress and raise public awareness of the vision. Then, we will begin collaborating with our many implementation partners to refine action strategies and achieve desired results.

If you would like additional information about Community COMPASS or the Planning Partnership, please visit our websites at www.communitycompass.org and www.planningpartnership.org or call Ron Miller at 946-4453

Thanks again for your continuing interest in Community COMPASS and Hamilton County’s future.