Statesboro’s city government, working with the Coastal Regional Commission, will host a third and final “stakeholder” meeting 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the fellowship hall of Statesboro United Methodist Church to continue the update process for the Statesboro Comprehensive Plan.

Members of the public are invited to attend the Feb. 13 meeting and share their ideas and vision for Statesboro’s future. The tentative agenda includes a public comment session, designation of “character areas” and future land use mapping, and discussion of a community work program.

Plans generally attempt to look 20 years into the future but must be updated every five years. The Statesboro Comprehensive Plan is intended to guide the city’s growth, development, investments, policies and programs, according to a description of the previous plan on the city’s website.

At the first meeting in December, a Comprehensive Plan Stakeholder Committee was named. Members of the stakeholder group include:

Jennifer Davis – Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce

Alexander Smith – Action Pact

Benjy Thompson – Bulloch County Development Authority

Alan Gross – Business Innovation Group/Georgia Southern

Bishop Larry Jones – Whitesville Full Gospel Baptist Church

Mildred Wilson – Statesboro-Bulloch Land Bank Authority

Dustin Branum – Georgia Department of Transportation

Elena McClendon – Mainstreet Statesboro

Allen Muldrew – Downtown Statesboro Development Authority

The state requires that cities and counties have up-to-date comprehensive plans to maintain Qualified Local Government Status as specified by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, or DCA. This status, in turn, is required to participate in grant funding opportunities such as Community Development Block Grants and Community Home Improvement Grants, as well as financing through the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority.