County planner seeks OK to launch comprehensive-plan survey; wind and solar questions flagged by residents

Joshua Allen, the county staff member managing the Crawford County comprehensive-plan survey, presented a revised, fillable survey and asked the commission to approve a February launch to gather public input for the county’s comprehensive plan. "What we really need to do today is... try to get this approved so we can get this over to, get the site ready to be uploaded and ready to go live that February," Allen said.

Nut graf: The updated survey adds questions about wind and solar, zoning and road impacts; Allen said collecting names and addresses will let staff map responses and identify geographic patterns. Residents who spoke during public comment urged safeguards to ensure valid responses and recommended paper or mailed options for people without internet access.

Allen described the survey’s renewable-energy question and how responses will be structured: the infrastructure question asks, "How important is renewable energy production such as wind and solar energy to the future development of Crawford County?" He said the answer choices range from "unimportant" to "very important," and that each comment box will allow free-text explanations for context.

Allen outlined the approach to collecting and validating responses: the survey will ask for name and address so staff can map responses by township and identify clusters of support or opposition. He said nonresident responses — for example, college students or visitors — can be identified and, if necessary, excluded during analysis using demographic fields such as length of residence. Allen also said the online system will use filtering (for example, by IP address) to flag duplicate submissions.

Cost and outreach questions were discussed at length. Allen estimated approximate household counts and mailer costs: a postcard with a QR code would run about 55¢ per mailer (roughly $3,000 for 5,000 postcards), while sending a full paper survey and envelopes could cost about $8,000 plus $2,000–$3,000 to process returned paper surveys. He told commissioners he would provide formal quotes from local vendors before the next commission meeting.

Residents and some commissioners urged a mailed option to reach renters, elderly residents and others without reliable internet access. Jeff Murphy, a Crawford County resident, said he was worried an online-only approach could be gamed and recommended paper or in-person options that resemble voting: "I think I would treat it a lot like voting. Come in and fill it out... now you can mail them, I guess, to landowners." Judy Prince asked for clarity about how the renewable-energy question will be presented; Allen reiterated that a follow-up comments box is intended to gather reasons rather than a single yes/no.

Allen said he will prepare the county website and expected to demonstrate the survey live at the commission’s next meeting; commissioners moved the presentation date to Feb. 4 so Allen could show a live demonstration and finalize the launch schedule. Allen also committed to supplying mailer cost estimates and vendor quotes before the commission’s next meeting.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return with a demonstration of the survey and with mailer cost options; residents asked for strong publicity and paper alternatives to ensure broad participation. Allen said his goal is a 60-day open period with a progress check at 30 days and a target response-rate goal of roughly 50% or higher, and that he would provide an updated launch plan at the Feb. 4 commission meeting.