Allegany County begins comprehensive plan renewal; board seeks volunteers and implementation funding

Keir Durham, Allegany County director of planning, told the Planning and Economic Development Committee that the county will begin the renewal of its comprehensive plan and expects the update to take up to one to two years under New York State law.

Durham said the county's comprehensive plan follows a state statutory checklist — noted in his packet as “county comprehensive plan general municipal chapter 24 article 12 b 2 39‑d” — that requires broad coverage of topics ranging from agriculture and housing to hazard mitigation and emergency services. He said the plan is frequently used to support grant applications and to provide data and maps that local governments and nonprofits can reuse.

The comprehensive plan board has nine seats, Durham said: three county legislators (Deb Root, Gary Barnes and John Rickey), three planning board members (Jason Eisman, John Gorton and Paula Van Dyke) and three at‑large members. Meredith Fields of Alfred was the only identified at‑large member currently serving. Durham said the board needs volunteers with agricultural, legal, large‑business, manufacturing, tourism and health sector experience.

Durham reviewed the plan's history: the county's first plan work began in 2007 and the most recent plan was completed in 2019. He said earlier plans were produced largely in‑house and that the 2019 edition won regional planning awards. The county intends to begin public meetings and plan‑board work this spring, with a committee kickoff listed for March 3 and a goal to have further budget discussions and a direction by the summer.

County administrators and committee members discussed the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Group (CPIG), which previously administered a small grant program for nonprofits, towns, villages and county entities. Historical CPIG budgets ranged from about $25,000 to $43,000; recent years typically funded roughly $25,000, Durham said. The county administrator told the committee that CPIG has produced visible local projects and that the county should consider restoring a program allocation (the administrator suggested $25,000 to $30,000 as a planning placeholder) and formalizing contract and approval procedures so county taxpayer dollars flow through a transparent process.

Committee members noted that volunteer recruitment is difficult and that making the role meaningful and showing results can help attract members. The committee agreed to continue discussions about whether to budget funds for CPIG in next year’s plan and to return with recommendations by summer, with related budget timing noted to occur well before the county fair.

Durham asked committee members to suggest candidates for the two open at‑large seats and said staff will reach out to more than 120 agencies and organizations during the update process.

The committee did not take formal action on funding at the meeting; members agreed to continue the discussion later in the year.