Planning staff schedules public rollouts, open houses and grant support for comprehensive plan

Planning staff told Ross County commissioners the comprehensive-plan process is entering its public rollout phase and outlined dates and funding to support public engagement.

Staff said a steering-committee briefing and a healthy-communities focus group are scheduled for April 16, followed by open houses April 22–30 in multiple towns (Kingston, Richmondale, Adelfi, South Salem at Salem Academy, Clarksburg, Banebridge and Frankfurt). A planning commission update is planned for May 19 and staff said two public hearings are expected in June before a recommendation to the board and final county action. The staff presentation emphasized that public input and focus-group feedback will shape the final recommendations.

Kim, the county grant writer and planner, secured a $50,000 reimbursable grant to support the comprehensive-plan work; staff said the grant is reimburseable, meaning the county will pay costs up front and submit for reimbursement. Planning staff also said they are preparing an ARC application to fund engineering for the Don Ditch drainage project and that they have applied to the Federal Highway Administration for a corridor study (Pleasant Valley traffic study) that would fund preliminary engineering; $200,000 in STBG funds would be used for initial analyses if the FHWA award is not received.

Staff asked commissioners to note the public meeting schedule and to plan to attend the steering-committee and public open-house sessions. Commissioners and staff emphasized the need to continue community outreach and to finalize outstanding transportation and engineering data from ODOT to complete analyses prior to formal hearings.

Next steps: staff will finish the steering-committee briefing on April 16, hold scheduled open houses and provide the planning commission and board with updates leading into the June public hearings.