Marshall County planners set sights on comprehensive plan rewrite after 13 years

Marshall County officials on May 28 discussed starting a formal update of the county comprehensive plan, which staff said was last revised in 2013 (document references also cite 2015). County planner Nick told commissioners he will gather input from plan commissioners, county departments and regional partners and proposed a schedule of planning sessions over the next six to 12 months.

Commissioners stressed the need to budget for outside consulting help rather than overloading staff. One commissioner cautioned, "we can't just expect to take advantage of Nick's good temperament and dump this all in his lap," and said the county should be prepared to hire professional services even if the contract could exceed $50,000.

Discussion covered benchmarking and metrics, aligning departmental plans with county goals, town and regional coordination (including a county town managers' collaboration group), and how a comprehensive plan should consider major roadway projects such as the State's Propel project on highways 30 and 31. Commissioners emphasized using the plan to guide infrastructure, road expansions and growth hubs rather than writing a static document.

Staff was asked to identify available funds and prepare a proposed timeline and outreach approach; Deborah Stan was asked to locate existing budgeted funds for the process. Commissioners signaled support for an interactive plan with community engagement including social media and town-manager meetings.