But others disagree, saying it’s time for the city to move forward on downtown plans.

It began with a flurry of public participation.

There were meetings and charrettes and long hours spent crafting the various components that would eventually become the recommendations of the Winslow Tomorrow Community Congress, a group of more than 125 volunteers that laid the groundwork of the long-range planning effort.

Then, unceremoniously, the congress was no more.

How it ended is a matter of some debate. Some, like City Councilman Chris Snow, who was a participant in the congress, said the group had simply run its course. Others, like Councilman Nezam Tooloee, say it was wrongfully disbanded by the city, a decision that he argues has since led to widespread public distrust regarding Winslow Tomorrow, which is nearing the implementation phase.

So Tooloee has an idea.

“What is needed, instead of the disjoint and piecemeal approach, is a holistic one that regains and keeps the confidence of the community and that of the City Council,” he said, in a proposal – submitted to the public record, but not yet discussed by the council – that would revive the community congress.

Saying that the city’s many planning efforts haven’t been properly integrated, Tooloee’s proposal stressed that it should be “very easy for any islander to join” the reconvened congress.

He also suggests reconvening and adding to the Citizen Steering Committee of Winslow Tomorrow “two or three members from citizen advisory committees with a specific focus like open space, non-motorized, affordable housing and 2025 growth.”

The CSC would work with city staff to turn the recommendations of Winslow Tomorrow into more specific proposals.

The city, he said, also should convene quarterly meetings of the community congress in which the CSC would present the results of its work to the public before presenting concrete proposals to council.

Councilman Bill Knobloch responded favorably to the idea.

“When you consider the pushback from some of the people who feel they were left out of the process, I think reconvening the congress is appropriate,” Knobloch said. “You can’ have the project move forward without community support.”

While Snow agreed that Winslow Tomorrow needs more opportunities for public involvement, he disagrees with bringing back the congress.

“I don’t think it’s such a good idea,” he said. “It’s too limited. All the public should be involved, not just the people in the community congress.”

Snow noted that several of Winslow Tomorrow’s current critics participated in the original congress. While he expects there to be some disagreement, he also thinks it’s time to move forward.

“The difference between being heard and prevailing in a discussion is fairly significant,” he said. “We need to find a way to structure a public process that’s constructive rather than destructive. Historically, we have a very vocal and passionate group of people who frustrate things that a silent majority probably think should happen.”

As an example of a constructive process, Snow cited the city Planning Commission’s ongoing review of proposed code changes associated with Winslow Tomorrow.

The process has been good, he said, because it has created a dialogue between planners and the public.

But Councilwoman Debbie Vancil said she’s concerned about a lack of public participation at the Council level.

She thinks the City Council is moving ahead too fast. She cited discussion at a Wednesday workshop, during which Councilman Jim Llewellyn made a motion – somewhat in jest – to approve all 32 Winslow Tomorrow recommendations.

The motion wasn’t carried because the council has said it won’t take action at workshops, but the sentiment behind it and similar discussion regarding the city’s 2025 report – which details the ways in which growth should be allocated across the island – has Vancil concerned.

“I was absolutely stunned,” she said. “This is not a benign act. If this council moves forward and approves either of these plans in bulk without public process, I believe we’re in danger of having our decision appealed to the Growth Management Board because of a lack of due process.”

She said Tooloee’s proposal is a good idea, but she also wants to consider other ways of including the public in Winslow Tomorrow and 2025 discussions, two efforts that she said are “inextricably entwined.”

Llewellyn said he realized he couldn’t make a motion at the workshop, but wanted to make a point.

He said there has been, and there will continue to be, plenty of opportunities for public participation. His worry is that process, if not reeled in some, may slow progress.

“The Community Congress was set up as part of a long-range planning process,” he said. “The public was involved in planning, but the congress wasn’t thought of as a vehicle for implementation. There will always be room for public input, but not on the scale that there was during the planning stage.”

Llewellyn said the public will get its say soon, when specific projects – like the coming Winslow Way streetscape design – are introduced as more concrete plans.

That, he said, is the point at which people must decide if the proposals match the vision created by the congress.

City Council candidate John Waldo, who also was a member of the first Community Congress, said he likes what he’s seen so far from Winslow Tomorrow.

“Anyone who wanted to be a part of the Congress could have,” he said. “I disagree with the people who say we’re getting something different now than what was originally envisioned. I’m not seeing that.”

That said, Waldo agrees with the general idea of reconvening the congress, though he hadn’t yet studied Tooloee’s proposal.

“I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “The Congress was the most effective citizen generated advocacy group for a citizen generated proposal.

“I feared that when it was no longer going to be a part of the implementation phase, Winslow Tomorrow would start to be looked at as an administration proposal.”

Whatever the vehicle, Snow said it’s important the public be involved not only in Winslow Tomorrow, but in all of the planning efforts that together will shape the future of Winslow and the island at large.

“Today, Winslow Tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow, the rest of the island.”