Planning committee debates public participation approach; staff and regional planner will provide surveys and outreach options

Ashland County Planning Committee members spent much of the May 12 meeting discussing how to solicit public input for the countycomprehensive plan, weighing multiple outreach approaches including digital surveys, a centralized email address for suggestions and targeted paper surveys for seniors and other groups.

Committee members and UW Extension staff described three primary options: a free online survey built with Qualtrics (QR code or short link distribution), a single countywide digital survey proposed by Northwest Regional Planning (NWRPC) included in its scope of work, and small, targeted paper surveys and in-person outreach for populations less likely to use digital tools. Committee members said the methods are complementary and recommended deciding how to coordinate them to avoid public confusion.

"It's free. It's very easy. The links are easy for access, and anyone who has the link at those committee meetings could take the survey," Lisa Radke told the committee while describing a Qualtrics-based QR-code option. Radke suggested posting a QR code or short link to committee agendas so attendees can answer questions in five minutes at their meetings.

Erica Henegel reported that she and others sent a departmental survey to 19 department heads and that four completed responses had been returned so far; she said she would send reminders to nonrespondents. Henegel also said she and partners distributed paper surveys to senior-lunch attendees and Meals-on-Wheels recipients and compiled the returned comments for committee review.

Dan Grady and others summarized a morning meeting with Northwest Regional Planning: NWRPC will gather background data, facilitate up to eight public meetings listed in the scope of work and "integrate [the comp plan] with the farmland preservation plan that we are they're already doing for us," Grady said. The committee noted the official NWRPC timeline will not begin until the county finalizes the contractor's agreement and funding.

Committee members discussed outreach logistics: George Boussay distributed a marked-up public participation plan drawn from Burnett County as a template and proposed the committee approve a public participation plan at its June meeting. Alyssa (UW Extension) said her extension social media channels and community networks could repeatedly share survey links; she also suggested targeted outreach to businesses, churches and seniors. Members discussed creating a single public-facing email address to collect input; Mary Pardee (director of UW Extension) was described as working with IT to identify an address (the transcript records a discussion of .edu and .gov options and forwarding to staff).

Committee members expressed concern about confusing residents with multiple outreach channels and recommended coordination. Several members urged the committee to use both approaches: put an item on each subcommittee's agenda to discuss the plan and use a simple link/QR code for quick responses at meetings, with NWRPC administering the single countywide survey in parallel if that proves more efficient.

Less-critical details: participants recommended using shortened links or QR codes on flyers and agendas to improve accessibility; members suggested posting plan materials on the county or extension web pages and issuing a press release and social-media blasts when the outreach begins.