The Ashland County comprehensive planning committee spent the bulk of its meeting debating how to reconcile consultant-driven timelines with locally drafted objectives and whether the group has enough updated data to set concrete priorities.

George Boussaint, who has chaired the planning effort, told members he wants subcommittees to draft actionable objectives and bring them back for committee review but also said he will step down as chair. "At this point, I resign from the chairmanship of the committee, although I'll stay on the committee," Boussaint said. The acting vice chair said an election for committee chair will be added to the next agenda.

The committee is working alongside Northwest Regional Planning (NWRPC), a contracted consultant. Several members urged following NWRPC's scope of work to ensure legal and procedural compliance, while others argued the committee should develop local visioning and objectives in parallel and use the consultant's work as a baseline. Charlie Ortman and Pat Kenny both emphasized the need to reconcile the 2016 plan's goals with current priorities before writing survey questions or public outreach materials.

Erica, a committee member, told the group the update is behind schedule for grant purposes and flagged a key deadline: "the grant has to be finalized, paid, everything done by April 2027," she said, and recommended the committee double up consultant-led months to catch up.

Members also discussed public engagement and marketing: several speakers said outreach so far has met minimum legal requirements but has generated limited public feedback. The group deferred a planned group photo and agreed the NWRPC team should propose the next meeting dates via a scheduling poll.

The meeting concluded with routine approvals of the modified agenda and past minutes and a motion to adjourn.