Town of Victor

GRASS-ROOTS EFFORT DEVELOPS PLAN FOR VICTOR:

Carol Commisso, a retired postmaster who now works as a teacher's aide, is hoping that a plan emerges so that development in the town she grew up isn't so rampant.

Kathleen Houser, a former educator who now owns a business, says her chief concern is that Victor remains a community that she feels a vital part of.

Commisso and Houser were among 36 local residents who have enlisted to come up with a road map for the town's future.

The group, called Core Team, is expected to grow to as many as 65 people by the end of the month and is almost entirely made up of Victor residents who are volunteering to work on the town's strategic plan.

By September, the group, which will be assisted by 10 citizen task forces focusing on a range of issues, is expected to make recommendations about the future of the town. The recommendations will then be reviewed by the Town Board and put into a comprehensive plan.

"This will lay out who we are as a community," said Town Supervisor Leslie Bamann, who took office in January and considers the strategic plan a priority.

Victor was the sixth-fastest-growing town in the state during the first five years of this decade, with the town's population jumping 20.7 percent to 11,951.

How to deal with growth is a pressing concern for a number of those who have volunteered to serve on the strategic planning committee.