By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — People are always expressing a desire that their voice be heard.

In Naples, taking the survey that kicks off the town’s comprehensive plan process is an effective way to be heard.

The survey is now accessible to the public Online. It is on the top of “News & Announcement” on the town webpage, townofnaples.org. Also, folks can reach out to the town office and get physical copies for the survey to complete.

“With that survey — we want as many people as possible to take it. That will be available Online. People can take it digitally at the office, and people can have paper copies if needed,” according to a representative from BerryDunn, the firm awarded the bid to help 

“Other ways folks can get involved is to talk to neighbors about this,” the representative said. 

Select board member Stephen La Pointe commented.

“The survey is asking questions what they want. There is a lot of talk about multi-family homes,” he said.

The female representative who did not introduce herself said he was correct.

“There will be questions about the future [such as] Where should there be more investments in the town? And What are your housing needs in the future,” she said.

Last week, BerryDunn gave a presentation to the Naples Select Board.

Municipal Consultant Kevin Price

“We will provide a brief update, give a project overview and timeline and go over ways that community members can get involved,” Price said.

BerryDunn is aiming for completion date of March 2026.

Currently, Phase I is happening, which consists of working with the town on existing conditions as those relate to the comp plan. Those existing condition include population demographics and maps of lakes and bodies of water and water quality.

“Concurrently, we are getting folks involved. This first, initial phase is designed to get public input,” the representative said.

Then, public input forums will be held to involve the people living in Naples.

“We want to make sure we are engaging as many as people as possible during this process,” the representative said.

BerryDunn will be guiding the town on how to implement its collective goals over the next years, 5 years, 10 years.

In related business, two more people were added to the nine-person comp plan committee. Those were Marty Zartarian and Jimmy Allen.

The members of the recently formed comp plan committee already include: Timothy Amoroso, Colin Brackett, Lauren Chan, Tamara Lyn Hunt, George Klauber, Chelsea McKamy, Kate Riggs, Kevin Rogers and Martina Witts.

On Nov. 25, the board voted to officially appoint all the committee members as the process moves forward.