Commissioners review $88,000 SRDC proposal to update county comprehensive plan; no vote taken

Pipesaukee County commissioners on Sept. 9 discussed a proposal from the Southwest Regional Development Commission (SRDC) to update the county comprehensive plan and ordinances. Environmental Administrator Kyle Greer presented the SRDC estimate — $88,000 total, with about $73,000 for the plan and $15,000 for ordinance updates — and said the work would take about a year and include extensive public engagement.

Greer proposed funding the project with riparian protection aid enforcement dollars (a grant allocation); he said the county expects another allocation in 2026 and that the account contains roughly $534,000 overall, with several existing GIS and pictometry obligations. Greer suggested shifting the 2026 allocation to pay for the comp‑plan work rather than levy funds.

Commissioners questioned the proposal’s scope and cost, particularly an estimated $32,000 line for meetings and outreach and the stated minimum of 16 engagement meetings. Several board members suggested combining meeting groups and reducing the number of separate sessions; Greer said the SRDC proposal had used a conservative estimate. Commissioners asked Greer to get a firmer estimate and to invite SRDC staff to a future meeting to present details and respond to questions about the number and format of meetings.

Greer said the SRDC would host a mix of in‑person and virtual sessions, begin mid‑next year and coordinate planning‑commission work and city input; the plan would then come back to the county board for final hearing and adoption. No action was taken Sept. 9; commissioners asked staff to gather more information and return with refined cost and engagement details before committing county grant funds.