Consultant outlines Marquette County 10‑year comprehensive plan update, launches marquettecounty2040.com

Place Foundry consultant Sean Eager told the committee the county is pursuing a 10‑year update to the comprehensive plan adopted in 2016 and described the project timeline through a December target for adoption. "We're working with the county to help do a 10 year update to the existing comprehensive plan," Eager said, outlining completed background research, a steering committee kickoff and planned public engagement.

Eager said the project hub is marquettecounty2040.com and that two surveys—one focused on land use and one covering broader county priorities—are live and will remain open through the end of August. He said the team will release an executive summary in mid‑August, synthesize survey results in September, draft plan sections in September‑October and host a public meeting in late October before finalizing the plan for December adoption.

Committee members raised content and process questions. Committee member John Larkin said the survey did not prompt enough farmland‑preservation questions for his rural constituency; Eager acknowledged that concern and noted free‑form survey responses and steering‑committee outreach. Members also asked whether steering‑committee meetings should be noticed under open‑meetings rules; staff advised that any meeting attended by multiple supervisors should be noticed and that they would verify notice status for upcoming sessions.

The presentation included an organizational update on the steering committee (about seven or eight members) and a request for committee members and residents to participate in online engagement to inform plan priorities such as transportation, health care access, housing mix and tourism development.