Village of Ossining officials are seeking ideas and feedback from residents on the redevelopment of the village”™s downtown Market Square area on a newly launched website operated by a Kansas City company that works with municipalities to engage citizens interactively in community initiatives.
The website, “Village of Ossining ”“ Become Part of the Conversation,” is at villageofossining.mindmixer.com. Village officials in a press release said it allows citizens to communicate and collaborate with community decision-makers and other residents on a variety of topics and initiatives. Feedback from the site will be used by village trustees in planning the village”™s future, they said.
With the launch, the village board is seeking input on the redevelopment of Market Square and existing parking lots at the intersection of Main and Spring streets. Ossining Mayor Victoria Gearity called the central downtown project “the key to growing our vibrant local economy.”
Over the next three months the village will post questions covering all aspects of the redevelopment, including buildings, architecture, site elements, amenities and uses.
“We set a goal for 2015 to engage the public on what Ossining wants to see happen at the heart of our downtown,” Gearity said in the announcement. “My colleagues and I on the board of trustees are excited that this new online platform enables us to hear from the community in a quantitative way.”
Operated by Mind Mixer, a 5-year-old technology company in Kansas City, Mo., that provides governments, schools and organizations with an online platform for civic engagement, the Ossining website measures and tracks participation, identifying the most interested citizens and most compelling topics. MindMixer”™s tools will also allow the village to communicate back with citizens throughout the planning process.
