Providing a road map for the city’s future, a proposed five-year strategic plan for Wildwood focuses on parks and recreation, public safety and housing.
Developed by City Manager Jason McHugh, the city’s first-ever strategic plan covering fiscal years 2018-2022 was discussed Monday at a city commission workshop meeting.
The proposed plan also calls for modernizing the city’s infrastructure, promoting organizational effectiveness and making sound financial decisions.
In housing, the plan focuses on creating more opportunities for working-class families. A priority is to negotiate the first planned development agreement for a subdivision for working-class families. The city also would provide incentives for affordable housing developments, identify substandard housing, complete an analysis of the local housing market and conduct a city commission workshop on housing types and funding sources.
A public safety initiative calls for improving the city’s capacity to respond to and recover from emergency situations. Priorities also include completion of the new Wildwood police station at U.S. 301 and County Road 462 West, updating the city’s emergency operations plan, buying five generators for use during power outages and increasing fuel storage capacity.
Parks and recreation priorities include implementing 20 new programs for various age groups, becoming partners with five outside groups on recreation programs and implementing a customer satisfaction survey and annual needs assessment.
To maintain financial stability, the plan recommends that the city maintain no less than 20 percent of operating revenue in the general fund and no less than 40 percent of operating revenue in the utility revenue fund.
For infrastructure, a pavement management plan would help the city anticipate roadway expenses, according to the proposed plan.
