JACKSON TWP — The township’s goal to establish an updated comprehensive plan is moving forward following a series of meetings with residents in which input was sought on the positive and negative aspects of living in Jackson.

Township manager Chris Rearick said the five workshops, which were held during consecutive weeks in April and this month, resulted in “plenty of feedback” that will be compiled into documents and posted on the township’s website. From there officials hope to hold additional public meetings in which a new comprehensive plan will be outlined.

“We want to create a true strategic plan that will have specific goals and action items,” Rearick said, noting that a comprehensive plan helps guide the township in short- and long-term community goals.

It has been about 15 years since the current plan was adopted by the township. Rearick said officials who organized the public meetings were surprised by the turnout.

Each meeting involved residents from a different section of the township with each session allowing residents to write down what they liked and disliked about the area.

Much to the surprise of the organizers, more positive aspects were listed than negatives.

“We weren’t really expecting that kind of feedback,” Rearick said. “Often times I think when we have these kind of meetings that people are going to come in and list all of their problems.

“Of course, we welcome that kind of feedback. But here it seemed the residents came in and told us what they liked and what they thought was working well.”

One reason the township wished to update its comprehensive plan was due to rapid growth. In 2014, 60 new houses were built in developments. Another 80 units are expected this year, Rearick said at one of the public meetings in April.

It’s not just residences that are seeing expansion. Since 2011, 465 new jobs have come to the township that have pumped up the work force to 2,900 at 180 businesses.

With projects such as the new FedEx distribution center on Tomlinson Drive as well as other development at Jackson’s Pointe, the expansion in Jackson is expected to continue.

However, the developments have taken a toll on roads. Infrastructure was one of the common areas of concern that arose from the meetings.

To combat the problem, the supervisors approved in November a traffic impact fee ordinance that allows the township to seek money from developers that primarily will go toward road work and infrastructure improvements. The fees are established based on the impact the new business will have on the roads in which the development is located.

During the recent meetings residents were split into two groups, with each group evaluating items such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Many of the positive aspects of the township were living in a peaceful, rural setting, easy access to highways and a low crime rate.

One negative aspect was the lack of community facilities.

With input now gathered, Rearick said a plan outline will be developed and later reviewed with residents. He said the public meetings likely will help officials avoid a “fairly generic plan.”

“I do feel like the input will go a long way,” he said. “We may have not been aware of some of these things or they were not discussed. This will help us move forward.”

Officials plan to spend the summer gathering additional information from residents and businesses before more meetings are scheduled. From there, a comprehensive plan will be put together.