Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Several stations were included as part of a public meeting aimed at gathering feedback for the city’s next comprehensive plan. The session was held on Tuesday evening at the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center.

“This is going to be your plan. It must reflect your priorities for Warren’s future.”

That was the heart of the message Mayor Maurice Cashman brought to a packed Wetmore Room at the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center for a public meeting that’s part of the city’s comprehensive planning process.

“The comprehensive plan process is so important for the future direction of Warren,” Cashman added, “identifying (a) vision, a blueprint, for the city for the next 10 to 20 years. Your input… will be meaningful and recorded. What you say tonight will matter.”

Several stations were set up in order to get feedback on the big issues facing the city.

“We seek a plan that won’t sit on the shelf,” Cashman said.

Brandi Rosselli, a consultant with Mackin Engineering, the firm hired to facilitate the plan, emphasized that the plan will “really move the city forward into the future” and “involves all that live and work in the city.”

The plan will “identify high priority implementation action items” and will guide the city on “how the city can start working on the priorities,” she added. “It will be actionable and measurable (and) covers all the different elements that make up a city.”

Denny Puko, also consulting on the project, said the plan is in the early stages.

“(We) are trying to find out what’s important in Warren,” he said. “if we’re going to work on solutions to problems or opportunities…. We want to learn which are the most important to deal with.”

He walked attendees through various demographic information and presented a key conclusion — “Warren is marketable. Warren is worth marketing.”

But he also emphasized that the future will bring change.

“The status quo is riskier than change,” he said.