At its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday, the Jim Thorpe Comprehensive Planning Commission discussed how to schedule public forums designed to educate citizens and get their input on the forthcoming Comprehensive Plan. Exact dates were not discussed, but the first in a series of three meetings is slated for some time in September.

Public meetings on the subject have already been conducted in Lansford and Jim Thorpe. Summit Hill and Penn Forest Township have not yet held their public meetings. Public meetings are a mandated part of the process of developing a Comprehensive Plan.Attendance at these meetings has been low. There was only one member of the public at the Lansford meeting. Nancy Sarcenello of GIF Services, one of the writers of the Comprehensive Plan, stated that traditional advertising has not been working and that new ways of attracting the public's attention would have to be tried.Along those lines, Sarcenello put forth the idea of holding three additional specialized forums. These forums would be modeled after Emergency Medical Services and Natural Resources, which were held last year and attracted more interest. The new forums will be concerned with Parks and Recreation, Historical Resource and Transportation issues.The Comprehensive Planning Committee believes these forums will be well attended because these are three of the most pressing issues in the area. Interested citizens should pay attention for forthcoming announcements as these forums are their best chance for learning about the important changes which will result from the new Comprehensive Plan.