WELLS — Officials in Wells are seeking input on the new comprehensive plan that will guide the town for the next 10-20 years.

The town recently released its first online public survey. The 15-minute survey asks residents, business owners and students to rank how they feel about a variety of issues from conservation and historic preservation to economic development and recreation.

Officials hope the new comprehensive plan will be ready for a public vote by the fall of 2015.

According to Town Manager Jonathan Carter, the last municipal plan was developed in 2005, and the majority of the 160 some odd tasks outlined in the plan have been completed.

These include the creation of a growth management development committee, wetland protection and conservation activities, harbor and municipal infrastructure, and the creation of an economic development organization.

To determine how to address remaining items in the plan and identify new goals and priorities going forward, Wells began reaching out to the public over the summer.

“First, we held two public workshops to test our strategy in our current plan,” Carter said. “Does the public still agree with our vision statement? Of the remaining activities in the plan that haven’t been addressed, we want to know what items remain a priority and what new issues and goals people have.”

The public workshops were facilitated with the help of Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission. The nonprofit organization is certified in the Maine State planning process and keeps a large amount of data about communities in York County.

After digesting the feedback from the two workshops, the next step is the online public survey.

Wells Code Enforcement Officer Jodine Adams led the survey development. With the help of Southern Maine Planning, the survey is automated online through Survey Monkey.

“We’re asking the public to take 15 minutes to respond to our survey and tell us what they want. This is an opportunity to make a positive statement about the future of our community,” Adams said.

The public will be asked to rate how they feel about a myriad of polices in the current plan ”“ such as keeping out big-box chain stores. They will also be asked about new topics including what types of recreation facilities people want nearby.

Wells has distributed surveys in previous planning efforts, but this time, the town is also working with the school department to include Wells students in the survey.

“After all, they are the future of Wells,” said Adams.

“One of the things that Wells is doing very well is land conservation, historic preservation, and like many coastal communities, aggressively planning for climate change impacts on coastal areas,” said Lee Jay Feldman, a director with Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission.

Feldman’s goal is to help ensure that the comprehensive plan is both easy for all residents to understand and is supported by the technical details to guide the select board, planning board and town staff.

Once the survey is completed, Feldman said officials should know a great deal about how different segments of the population feel about a range of issues facing Wells in the next 10-20 years.

“The survey should help us understand why people care about a certain topic. The questions are based on many of the things from the last comprehensive plan, but also include things people complain to us about when we talk about zoning,” said Adams.

The town survey is available via a link from the town’s website at www.wellstown.org or directly at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/WellsCompPlan.

Paper copies can be obtained by request from Town of Wells Code Enforcement Office at 208 Sanford Road and the Wells Public Library, located at 1434 Post Road.

— This article also appeared in Making It At Home. Tracey Collins can be reached via the Journal Tribune at [email protected].