NORWAY – Selectmen agreed Thursday night that it’s time to stop talking and take some action to ensure the town’s future continues in the right direction.

“We planned and planned and planned. It’s time to fish or cut bait,” said Town Manager David Holt, who released the results of a town-wide survey that netted only 39 responses out of about 1,000 people who received the survey in their annual town report.

The three-page survey, which was inserted on bright green paper in the latest town report, asked people to check which statements they agreed with. Examples included:

• The historic character of the downtown should be preserved.

• New development will not adversely impact views and aesthetics.

• Entrances to the town such as Route 26 and Fair Street should be visually appealing.

• Property owners should be able to develop their own land as they see fit.

Of the 38 questionnaires that have been tabulated (one remains to be added to the list,) 37 of the 38 respondents said they favor preserving the historic character of the downtown. Thirty of the 38 respondents said the town should invest in passive recreation facilities such as trails, and Norway should develop a program to encourage energy conservation. Twenty nine respondents said Norway should invest in attracting more business and 27 said open space and woodlands should be preserved through land use regulation.

Regulations were also favored to protect the environment and to preserve open space.

Twenty-seven respondents said the character of downtown was most important to them.

In general, said Holt, the survey showed that the majority of people want to preserve the rural character of Main Street and impose land use ordinances.

“The sample is so small that it really has no statistical significance,” Holt said.

Holt has recommended that a previous committee, comprising some selectmen, planning board members and others who worked on the survey, be put back together to see what direction they want to take now that the information has been received.

With the town’s comprehensive master plan already done and this latest survey completed, Holt and selectmen agreed its time to move on and start implementing some plans before the information they have becomes outdated.

“It’s a moving target. What they wanted 10 years ago is not what they want today,” said Holt of peoples’ changing views.