HANSVILLE — Residents in the Greater Hansville Area now have the ability to look into their community’s future.

With the help of the U.S. Post Office and a group of dedicated residents, minus a crystal ball, the public will be able to see the potential paths that has been laid out for Hansville through a unique planning tool known as the Futures Project.

“We spent the summer working on it, and I think it covers a lot of ground for Hansville,” said Futures Project steering committee member Steve Bauer, adding that the board is now seeking public input.

“My understanding is that the final report will be presented at a community meeting,” said project steering committee member Ken Shawcroft. “The outcome we’re looking for is groups forming around our action items. I think we have seven or eight items on the list.”

According to the final report, there are eight action items that the board felt would help improve the Hansville area. They include: creating a downtown master plan, eliminating clear cutting, preserving the area’s rural feel of the area, expanding the inclusiveness of the area’s communities, becoming involved in the design and planning processes of saltwater parks, increasing traffic safety with traffic calming devices, protecting wildlife corridors in the area and creating a community advisory committee.

“We’ve taken steps already to incorporate the communities,” said steering committee member Becky Ellison. “We’re planning on putting a sign up that says ‘Welcome to the Greater Hansville Area.’ We’ve got a sign up on the community center that says ‘Greater Hansville Area Community Center.’ We’re also working to make sure that those areas get their events in the Hansville Log each month.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to put together a fixed group that deals with the government outside of Hansville,” Shawcroft said, adding that the board is hoping residents will step forward and form groups to ensure the action items get finished.

“I do know that there are people in the community that have an interest in working in all the areas we’ve laid out,” Ellison said, adding that the community has been supportive and interested in helping with the Futures Project. “We’ve had several public meetings with really good turn out.”

The board does not want the plan to fade because it is important for the area to have its future planned out, he said.

“In keeping with the GHA’s tradition of action, the planning committee did not stop at a vision statement that would then sit on a shelf,” the final report stated. “Rather, the committee compared the likely future with the one we’d prefer and identified a list of action items that are necessary for us to tackle if we are to realize our dreams.”

The board started in 2003 with the goal of protecting Hansville’s way of life and shaping the community, Bauer said. Twenty-four outside groups were invited to be a part of the Futures Project’s planning process. Now, bylaws have been drafted for the project board, he said, and the next steps are ready to be taken.

“I think the biggest thing now is that we need a lot of volunteers to carry on these plans,” Bauer said. “Everybody’s pretty busy here, but we already have one group that’s gotten together to help with traffic and speed issues in the area.”

The going is slow, however, and people have become impatient, he said. The board is hoping to have the groups together by the end of this year, with changes beginning soon after that.

“It’s going to be difficult at times,” Shawcroft said, adding that some of the project’s goals will most likely conflict with businesses in the area. “We have to try to work with these people, in the county and in businesses. That can be hard and frustrating.”

For more information about the Futures Project, or to read a copy of the final report, visit. www.hansville.org.