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Bourbon County planning board recommends three firms for comprehensive-plan interviews
Summary
After reviewing proposals and debating tradeoffs between cost, depth and community outreach, the Bourbon County planning board voted unanimously to recommend MPC, Foster Design and Confluence for interviews by the county commissioners to decide who will draft the county's comprehensive plan.
The Bourbon County planning board voted unanimously to recommend that county commissioners invite three consulting firms'MPC, Foster Design and Confluence'for interviews as part of the county's ongoing selection of a comprehensive-plan vendor.
The recommendation followed a multi-hour review of competing proposals in which board members weighed price, timeline and expected public engagement. At the meeting a board member moved that the group "recommend MPC, Foster Design, and Confluence to the Commissioners"; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
Board members highlighted differences among the proposals. Foster Design, a Wichita-based firm, was praised for Kansas experience and a comparatively modest price range cited in the packet (about $35,600 to $39,800). Confluence (described by members as offering detailed maps, photos and robust community-engagement materials) drew praise for deliverables but concern about higher cost and mixed Kansas law familiarity. MPC and other out-of-state firms prompted questions about travel costs and longer timelines; members described MPC's schedule as 12'18 months and raised the risk of slower turnaround.
A recurring concern was who would carry much of the community-engagement workload. Several proposals indicated county staff would be asked to distribute questionnaires, collect responses and summarize results; board members flagged the county's limited staff capacity and the possibility of hidden expenses if the county must do significant legwork itself. One board member noted that Confluence builds visual preference boards and other engagement tools that can increase participation, while others said turnout in similar counties has been low.
Members agreed the county commissioners should weigh in on priorities'whether cost, speed or depth of deliverables matter most'before a final selection is made. The board said it will prepare standardized interview questions for all three firms and present a short pros-and-cons summary to the commissioners. The board indicated it would ask commissioners whether they prefer a work session or direct interviews.
The recommendation now goes to the county commissioners, who have authority to select and fund a vendor.
