City awarded $250,000 state grant to expand comprehensive plan; board to seek implementation funding

Joe Esch, the economic development administrator, told the board the city received formal notification of a $250,000 General Land Office grant to support an expanded comprehensive land-use plan. Esch said the city will augment the comp plan scope to include a parks master-plan component and targeted redevelopment concepts for the US-98 and 1092 corridors to make the plan useful for future grant applications.

Esch outlined the process and timing: once the city council accepts the grant (expected at a council meeting in October), work with the selected consultant would be finalized and the consultant contracts returned; consultant kickoff is anticipated in December with stakeholder committee appointments to follow. Esch said the expanded scope is intended to increase the plan's utility for future implementation and grant-seeking. Board members asked that revenue and implementation options be included in the comp-plan scope so that the plan is actionable, not purely aspirational.