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Planner urges council to finish growth policy to unlock grant funding
Summary
Kevin Angland of Great West Engineering told the council the city's growth policy is near completion but requires a statutory planning-board public hearing before final adoption; adoption would enable CIP updates and improve eligibility for state grants tied to Department of Commerce priorities.
Kevin Angland, a planner with Great West Engineering, told the Cut Bank City Council the city’s growth policy is nearly ready but still needs the statutorily required planning-board public hearing before the council can adopt it.
"We need to have the statutory planning board public hearing," Angland said, noting the city appears to lack a full, active roster of planning-board members and urging the council to appoint or confirm members so the hearing can proceed. He said adoption of the growth policy would allow the city to update its capital improvements plan (CIP) and improve competitiveness for Department of Commerce and other grant programs.
Angland recommended the council consider whether to maintain the existing city–county planning board structure or form a city-only planning board; he said a city-only board would be easier to staff and might engage more local residents. He estimated a full planning board should have seven members and offered to help the city facilitate the public hearing and the final steps toward adoption.
Why it matters: An adopted growth policy and up-to-date CIP are frequently required or highly regarded by state grant programs; completing these steps would position Cut Bank to pursue infrastructure and recreation grants discussed elsewhere in the meeting.
Next steps: Council asked staff to research bylaws and appointment procedures and to return to the council with options for confirming or appointing planning-board members and scheduling the required public hearing.
