Representatives from the Houston-Galveston Area Council and AECOM—a global consulting firm—met with city officials and residents at Magnolia City Hall March 7 to gather input for a Houston-Galveston Regional Plan.

The meeting involved a series of polls to determine how much attendees valued things like public transportation, preserving open spaces and creating job opportunities. Attendees were then broken up into small groups to discuss what they want to see in the community and what issues are most important to them. There were around 20 participants between residents and city officials.

Common issues brought up during the group discussions included providing more opportunities for small local businesses to open up in Magnolia and attracting more employers so people do not have to leave the city to get a job. As far as the actual plan was concerned, several groups stressed the importance of making sure it is fully thought through and balanced.

"The next step is to use this information to develop different scenarios for how Magnolia can be represented in the comprehensive plan," said Ellen Heath, principal at AECOM who led one of the small group discussions. "We will come back in the fall to present the different scenarios."

The plan, which is in its infancy stages, will affect the 13 counties H-GAC presides over: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller and Wharton. With help from AECOM, H-GAC has been hosting public meetings throughout the region to speak with locals and collect data on which issues are considered most important in each county.

The H-GAC is a voluntary organization composed of elected officials from each county. The Council works to address area-wide problems related to transportation and infrastructure through cooperative efforts by connecting local governments.

H-GAC scheduled meetings in both Conroe and East Montgomery County, but the original plans did not involve a meeting in Magnolia. Deborah Rose Miller, Magnolia's economic development coordinator, got in touch with H-GAC officials and convinced them to set something up.

Miller said she thought the meeting went well. She said she hopes to have H-GAC members attend a Magnolia Chamber luncheon some time in the future to give more people a chance to get involved, an idea which the Council has expressed interest in.

"I was excited that our community came out and took advantage of [the meeting]," she said. "I think it helped show H-GAC that Magnolia is on the map as well."

Heath said the deadline to establish the final plan is February 2014. Ideas and comments from the meeting will be posted online at www.ideas.ourregion.org, she said.