Committee scraps contested population-language from draft Parks and Open Space Plan

Committee members spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing chapters 3–4 of the draft Parks and Open Space Plan and flagged a paragraph that relied on a controversial 2024 Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) population forecast.

The presenter said the DOA study indicated a declining population trajectory for Walworth County and noted the committee must decide what growth scenario will guide acreage and amenity targets in the parks plan. An executive committee member replied that the DOA analysis assumed zero in‑migration into Wisconsin and cautioned that assumption made the report unsuitable as a sole basis for county planning.

"They made that conclusion because they assumed zero in migration into Wisconsin," the executive committee member said, urging staff to defer to fresh SEWRPC/DOA projections as updates become available. Committee member Maryette Nowak and others said they preferred removing the contentious wording and returning the plan to the standard low/high growth framing until new regional projections are released.

The presenter agreed to remove the passage from the current draft and to return with edits after public-information meetings and receipt of updated population data. Staff also reviewed inventory updates (conservation easements, National Register entries) and public outreach plans: two public information meetings were scheduled (Oct. 12 at Public Works, and a second meeting tentatively in Lake Geneva in late November or December).