PARADISE >> New project goals are expected to be implemented as the future of downtown Paradise continues to take shape.

The Paradise Town Council voted 4-0 with one abstention to approve the next phase of development for the downtown area, which creates a five-year timeline for the project. Recovery and Economic Development Director Colette Curtis presented the item to the council during Tuesday’s meeting and mostly received positive feedback from councilors.

“If you recall back in phase two we did collect quite a bit of data through public input we also did a market study to look at what downtown Paradise could support when it comes to square footage,” Curtis said. “We got some great information on that which is going to be kind of the jumping-off point for phase three.”

The start of phase three includes an ongoing contract with Urban Design Associates with a cost of $41,900. The proposal Curtis gave during her presentation started with creating an oversight group that would consist of a councilor, town staff and various business owners and community members. This group would also travel to other downtown sites to gather information on events and designs throughout other communities.

“We really want to learn from what has been done in other communities and take those lessons back and apply what works,” Curtis said. “Then we would also conduct more community outreach to determine what our community really wants to see in this plan. That would be done through an online survey as well as an open house.”

A strategic plan will also be created and presented to the council with tangible goals at the one-, three- and five-year marks.

“That’s really what differentiates this plan and makes it a strategic actionable plan with steps that we can measure that are shorter-term,” Curtis said. “This is not a 30-year plan, this is something that we’re going to look to achieve in short order. It would also provide a menu of options and potential actions to achieve those.”

Vice Mayor Steve Culleton was less on board with the plan and aired concerns that it would be premature to go forward with this planning with future budgets and the sewer project facing uncertainties.

“My only objection to this, and I understand that it makes sense to have some kind of plan, (is) we’re talking about this walkable downtown but we’re at least a year away from having any kind of even idea of how we’re going to accomplish a sewer,” Culleton said. “And unless we accomplish a sewer, none of this is going to happen.”

The plan would begin implementation during the 2025-26 budget cycle, which Culleton said raised concerns for funding and whether there would be money available.

“It’s too soon,” said Culleton, who abstained during the vote. “This is the year that all of our bargaining groups renegotiating new contracts. We don’t know what next year’s budget is going to look like.”

Other members of the council expressed disagreement with Culleton. Councilor Greg Bolin supported going forward with the new phase of development.

“If you don’t start now, it won’t happen in five years,” Bolin said. “It has to be planned out, and I’ve done projects where you start and it takes years of planning and putting stuff together and permitting. All that stuff takes so much time.”

Special meeting

The council called a special meeting slated for 2 p.m. on Monday to discuss projects funded through federal grants, specifically for infrastructure needs.

In 2022, the town received considerable funding in the wake of the Camp Fire that was divided up across multiple road repair projects as well as the ongoing Paradise sewer project.

Since the funding was received, however, costs have gone up significantly, creating a dilemma for the town’s ongoing projects.

“As a result of the project increases, staff, council and community alike are faced with significant challenges to deliver the most beneficial infrastructure projects within the town’s available budgets between local, state and federal funding,” the related staff report said. “Staff have developed four distinctive alternatives for review. There are major implications for each alternative and require thorough consideration.”

During the meeting, the council is expected to hear and discuss alternatives to projects that could help save money.

The meeting will be held at the Paradise Town Council Chambers at 5555 Skyway.