|
Jennifer Clock
Current Commissioner - Planning & Zoning Commission
I have resided in Southington for 15 years with my husband and now beautiful son. I currently work as the Vice President of Operations at a local premium auditing firm and have an extensive leadership background in business. My passion has always been to serve my community, to give back to what has given so much to my family and me. It has been by honor to have served previously on our planning and zoning commission from 2011 – 2019.
During my time on the commission, I held a critical role in our towns Open Space preservation initiative by serving on the committee from 2014-2017. During this time I was able to work collaboratively across party lines to make responsible decisions on parcel purchases and initiatives to market Southington’s open space. Most notably from 2014-2016 I chaired the Plan of Conservation and Development Committee. Together with town staff, fellow residents, a third party firm and other elected town colleagues, we developed this plan which is utilized heavily amongst town planning today. This plan has driven numerous major decisions in Southington since it was published and approved by all boards in 2016. The most significant part of this process and the part I am most proud of, was the inclusion of all of Southington residents who brought key ideas and important feedback we used as guidance for the plan. Additionally, throughout my time on the commission I have also played a large part in historical preservation and awareness for our town. In 2017, I was honored to work with local resources to secure a grant that funded a Historical Inventory Update. Through this imperative, I worked with a third party resource that updated and formally documented Southington’s historical inventory that had been neglected for over 3 decades. Critically this also for the first time included our farms which we know to hold critical history locally. This paved the way for Southington to preserve historical property on the National Registry. Finally, in 2018 I chaired the Cannabis Committee where together with other town leaders we reviewed and updated Medical Marijuana regulations appropriate to the landscape at that time. Overall, in my time as a commissioner I have been able to work with my fellow commissioners on numerous occasions regardless of what side they were on to arrive at the best solution for our town. We have been able to make critical and fiscally responsible decisions for the betterment of our community. Most importantly, every person has a right to voice their opinion and I am there to listen and hear what they say. I love our town and feel genuinely that everyone has a stake in it especially during important zoning regulation discussions and planning phases. Our beautiful town has extraordinarily rich history and a critically diminishing landscape. It is extremely important to me to make sure that our history and vision are preserved and represented responsibly. If given the opportunity to serve in November, I will resume my mission in focusing on preservation of our history and land, as well as work amicably with our town leaders on each side to make the best decisions for our community. |