Marathon County supervisors debate language, objectives in 2026 comprehensive plan update

Marathon County supervisors reviewed the proposed 2026 Comprehensive Plan during their regular meeting, with staff outlining edits to objectives and background material and inviting supervisors to submit amendment language by the following day.

Lori Kimmons told the board the comprehensive plan is a guiding, non‑enforceable document and that the draft has been revised to replace absolute terms such as “ensure” with more achievable phrasing like “support.” She said the plan removes an explicit objective to “increase renewable energy” and instead frames the county’s energy goal as to “provide adequate energy,” a change intended to reflect a lack of community consensus on renewable energy goals.

Kimmons highlighted background updates to the livability chapters to remove dated references to 2009 studies, and said staff had added proposed background material on data centers and battery energy storage systems to better reflect current development pressures. She also described objective edits proposed for housing programs, including language to promote rehabilitation assistance for older homes and to explicitly list radon and lead remediation among critical repairs.

Vice Chair Dickinson and other supervisors thanked staff and the administrator for circulating proposed edits in advance. Staff described an amendment process: supervisors should submit draft amendment language quickly, and staff will bundle suggestions into “language packages” to be considered as motions to amend—similar to the county’s budget amendment workflow.

The board did not adopt the plan in the meeting. Staff said the packet posted for review does not yet integrate the new edits and encouraged supervisors to send final language by the stated deadline for inclusion in the next packet. The item remains on the board’s agenda for further action.