WINDSOR – The Windsor Mayor and town board are not setting on their laurels.

While the town is experiencing unprecedented growth in recent times, Mayor Bob Spivey and the other town leaders took steps last week to ensure their future.

At the urging of Spivey, the town moved into partnership with the Division of Community Assistance (DCA) of the North Carolina Department of Commerce to provide strategic planning for the town.

&uot;I’d like to see us move forward again,&uot; Spivey said, referencing the town’s previous plan which was conducted with the same group.

&uot;We’ve achieved so much,&uot; the mayor added. &uot;We’ve also got so much ahead of us in the next five to 10 years, I’m afraid we’ll make a mistake if we don’t plan.&uot;

Chief Planner Lee Padrick said many towns the size of Windsor didn’t have someone fulltime working in planning and the Division of Community Assistance helped those towns with planning.

&uot;Strategic planning is a hot topic in eastern North Carolina,&uot; Padrick said. &uot;With growth comes opportunity. With opportunity comes new challenges.&uot;

Bianca Gentile, a Senior Planner with DCA, will coordinate the town’s strategic planning over the course of the study.

She said the focus of the study would be simple.

Gentile said, &uot;One of the main concerns is where are we and how do we get where we are going.&uot;

She said her role would be to walk the town through the process of strategic planning and analysis.

Commissioner Bob Brown moved to adopt the resolution to partner with the DCA with Commissioner Charles W.D. Fulk offering a second. It passed without objection.

Gentile directed the board to put together a strategic planning committee to consist of six to 12 members and suggested the representation be diverse and representative of the community at large.

For his part, Town Administrator Alan Castelloe said the strategic plans were important for Windsor’s growth.

&uot;It’s important for the town to be able to have an idea of where we are and where we need to be a few years down the road,&uot; he said. &uot;This should be a tool to aid in that.&uot;

Castelloe said the resource provided by DCA, which is projected to cost the town only a little more than $300, was an excellent one and he felt the town was wise to take advantage of it.