Johnson community members are encouraged to participate in the second part of the Re-Imagine Johnson process to discuss and vote for actions generated by the community to address the long term flood recovery in Johnson and review the Community Resilience Assessment outcomes. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 10th from 5:00-8:30 pm at the Johnson Elementary School with pizza from the Community Oven and childcare provided.

This event is the second step of a three-step process that brings together community members,  including those displaced from the July 2023 flooding and impacted in the 2024 flooding, to examine issues, decide top priorities, and develop action plans for the future of their town. During step two, the community will review ideas generated in step one, advocate for what is most important to their community, then select top priorities and sign up to begin moving those priorities forward.

Step one of the process collected input on the opportunities and challenges facing Johnson from over 160 community members through public forums, paper and online surveys. The discussion in the forums included topics such as the grocery store, housing, emergency response planning, watershed mitigation and communication, community events and spaces, tourism and recreation, and more. A Visiting Team of representatives from state, federal, private, and non-profit organizations joined the forums to hear ideas and suggest potential resources as priorities emerge.

All members of the Johnson community are welcome and encouraged to join the evolution of this process on September 10th to champion ideas and vote on actionable priorities. Free pizza from the Community Oven will be served, along with drinks and desserts at 5 pm with the program beginning at 5:20 pm.

All are encouraged to attend in person to champion their ideas and vote. If you are unable to attend in person, you can watch a live-stream of the evening but won’t be able to participate. Find the link to join at bit.ly/re-imagine-johnson.

The Vermont Council on Rural Development, a neutral facilitator invited by the town and village, will facilitate the process each step of the way and help the community connect to resources to move chosen priorities forward. VCRD is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Vermont communities. In the past 20 years, VCRD has worked with over 85 communities across the state to bring residents together through its facilitated and structured process to share ideas and move toward common solutions.

VCRD Climate Economy Program Manager Laura Cavin Bailey says, “We were so impressed by how many Johnson community members of all ages showed up to discuss the future of the town and village in July. We hope the community will join us on September 10th to prioritize what actions to embark on first for the long term flood recovery plan.”

The third step of Re-Imagine Johnson will take place on October 9th and will include the startup of task forces working with a Visiting Resource Team to create action plans and build a list of technical and financial resources that will move community-determined priorities forward.

Re-Imagine Johnson is funded with support from the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity, the Jane’s Trust Foundation, and VCRD supporters and donors.

For more information, visit bit.ly/Re-Imagine-Johnson contact VCRD at (802) 234-1646, or email Laura Cavin Bailey at [email protected].