Parsons, West Virginia – Parsons Revitalization Organization in conjunction with the Parsons Blueprint Communities Team is releasing their visionary strategic plan for the Parsons community.
This strategic plan is a community revitalization strategy that includes a future vision for the community and an action plan to realize the vision. This plan is intended to move forward critical community and economic development areas of work for Parsons as well as serve as a resource to encourage coordinated investments by public and private funders.
The plan was created through an informed community engagement process, including ice cream socials, cake walks, and roundtable discussions with recreation stakeholders as well as business owners. Each event participants gave their vision for Parsons.
This strategic plan work supports the community in building toward revitalizing downtown by growing businesses, providing adequate housing, and promoting community by encouraging gathering places, which the community defined in feedback meetings we held throughout last year and early this year.
In order to achieve this goal, residents will work with leadership support from the Parsons Revitalization Organization in order to achieve this goal as well as the objectives outlined in the plan.
This group of leaders is currently seeking the support of any residents in the community who are interested in contributing their efforts toward assisting in realizing this vision. Interested residents may contact Executive Director Dr. Cynthia P. Kolsun, drkolsun@atlanticbb.net, (304) 553-1012 to get involved.
Examples of initiatives included in the plan are:
- Recreation – Promote and utilize recreational assets to build a recreational economy and improve quality of life.
- Housing – Develop and maintain quality housing choices for all people in the community.
- Business and Buildings – Create a supportive business community for new and existing businesses that serves residents and visitors.
- Community Engagement – Encourage residents and visitors to connect, collaborate, and enjoy the community.
The entire plan is publicly available at the Parsons City Business Office, Charles W. “Bill” Rosenau Municipal Building, 341 Second Street, Parsons, West Virginia 26287 or online at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ro-aGM8syQtIKP1prLiPgMbOXZnlCsG7/view?usp=sharing.
The Parsons community is one of six selected communities in the 2019-2020 cohort of the Blueprint Communities Program, and this plan was a primary outcome of the one year of volunteer service that residents invested into this program. Blueprint Communities is a collaboration between the Federal
Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and the West Virginia Community Development Hub. Fifteen communities across West Virginia have participated since the start of the program in 2007.
