After weeks of virtual public town hall and stakeholder meetings, the Evansville Climate Action Plan is beginning to take shape.
The city is hoping to have a draft of the plan ready in September and to present a final version to City Council in December.
In addition to seven online public town halls, plan creators have already met with the Southwestern Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and salaried employees at Berry Global.
Additional stakeholder presentations are still planned with the Evansville chapter of the NAACP, the local Latino community and Wesselman Woods Nature Society, said Timothy Weir. The retired executive director of Aurora, a nonprofit advocacy agency for the homeless, was hired by the city to shepherd the Climate Action Plan to completion.
Assisting in its development is Carolyn Townsend, a dual master's degree student at the Indiana University O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Development of the plan was initiated by Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. In a statement about the plan, he said: "Our Climate Action Plan will create immediate, lasting benefits to our community, including strengthened economic development, improved air quality and reduced waste."
