Oswego's Strategic Plan Process Moves Forward

The village’s strategic planning process is moving forward with a goal of the process complete by early fall.

About 35 residents, business owners and leaders from across the community came together for an all-day stakeholders meeting earlier this month at Oswego East High School with the purpose of gathering information to help form a comprehensive strategic plan for the village. The workshop covered current conditions, identified crossroads, the preferred future, guiding principles and strategic actions.

The session was coordinated by Lynn Montei of Lynn Montei and Associates, the company hired by the village to create the strategic plan.

“It was a great day; we got a lot done,” Montei said. "We had some very meaningful conversations. I am really excited about the level of commitment in Oswego.”

The strategic plan has been described by board members and Village President Brian LeClercq as a road map for the future of Oswego across a wide spectrum of issues, including growth, business development and infrastructure.

April’s election highlighted residents' concerns over development within the village with trustees split on the best way to attract new business to town and what kind of business the village should be courting.

LeClercq said the strategic planning process is meant to bridge some of that divide.

“No one plan is going to reconcile every issue,” he said. “But I believe that everyone’s ideas are being considered in this process. Everyone wants the same thing in the end. It just depends on how we end up getting there.”

Montei said the next step will be for her company to synthesize the information gathered at the stakeholder meeting and present it to the participants. After that, a Village Board workshop and community dialogue will be held before the plan’s final adoption, which could come in October.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to accurately reflect the location of the meeting. We regret the error.