Public Meeting Will Focus on City’s Future

In an effort to rally people’s interest in advance of a Monday community meeting to plan Fillmore’s future, dozens of schoolchildren will help the city promote the meeting with a rally today in front of City Hall.

The children will march the several blocks from Sespe Elementary School to City Hall with banners, posters and signs representing their visions for the agricultural community in 2020.

Next week’s meeting is intended to garner comments on a plan to guide the city through the next two decades.

Mayor Don Gunderson sees symbolism in today’s 10:30 a.m. march and rally.

“These young students, who are indeed the future of Fillmore, will march from the city’s oldest school to our new City Hall,” he said. “We are working to create a vision statement that will be a driving force behind present and future decisions in the community. This is all about where Fillmore wants to be in 20 years.”

City Clerk Steve McClary said it is also all about where officials want Fillmore residents to be at 6:30 p.m. Monday--when the meeting gets underway at the Fillmore Towne Theatre, 338 Central Ave.

“We’re doing anything we can to create a little excitement, to get a little attention for this meeting,” he said.

With the current debate regarding growth in Ventura County, officials of this Santa Clara Valley community see this as an ideal time for such a meeting.

“Right now is a critical time for Fillmore to determine where it wants to go,” said city planner Kevin McSweeney. “Just in the area of land use alone, Fillmore is facing pressure from a number of directions.

“Outside Fillmore there is the Newhall Ranch project and the SOAR initiative. Here in the city we are in the process of updating the General Plan and looking at a number of key development projects.”

For more information on what officials call the Fillmore Vision 2020 Plan or on the meeting, call 524-1500, Ext. 211.