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Boone City planning staff warn master-plan deadline may slip without hires or extension
Summary
Planning staff told commissioners the master plan review period closed April 11 and an adopted plan must be posted in early June to satisfy MEEDC/MiSTMA grant requirements; staff said lack of a planning director, a terminated consultant contract, and contractor reluctance amid a charged political environment make the June timeline unlikely without an extension.
City planning staff told the Boone City Commission that the draft master plan cannot be completed and posted by the funder’s early-June deadline without additional contracting or an extension from the grantor.
Kyle, the city’s planning/zoning representative, said the draft has completed a 63-day review that ended April 11 but that the city lost a contracted consultant (Beck & Raider) after the consultant concluded progress was insufficient. Kyle said several private planners and consultants have declined to engage because of the current political environment, and that the grant from MEEDC/MiSTMA requires the city to accept and post the finalized plan or risk repaying funds if the contract is breached.
"We were granted funding from MEEDC and MiSTMA to produce this document," Kyle said, and added that staff and the planning commission are arranging a steering committee (including DDA/Main Street and boards) to reconcile outstanding comments and establish next steps. Commissioners pressed staff on whether Jessica (city clerk/treasurer) has authority to sign an extension request on behalf of the city manager position if an extension is needed; staff said the commission previously authorized that in the manager’s absence but that the funder can still deny an extension.
Commissioners asked for a short-term plan to bridge staffing and retention of consultant capacity and suggested identifying specific contract tasks that could be subcontracted (GIS, document editing, outreach). The commission agreed to convene a steering committee of two commissioners, two planning-commission members, two Main Street/DDA representatives and staff to reconcile comments and produce an actionable timeline with measurable next steps for the plan’s adoption and posting.
Next steps: steering-committee meeting to prioritize outstanding review items and then a revised plan or an extension request to MEEDC/MiSTMA, with the commission tracking progress at the next meeting.
