Meetings scheduled to gain input on Greene County’s comprehensive plan
An advisory committee of the Greene County Planning Commission working to develop Greene County’s new comprehensive plan has scheduled a series of five public meetings to gain input on the plan.
The open house-type meetings will be held Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Jefferson fire hall; Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Center Township fire hall; Thursday, Sept. 20 at Carmichaels fire hall; Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Mon View Park Roller Rink; and Thursday, Sept. 27 at the Franklin Township Municipal Building. Each meeting will be from 4 to 7 p.m.
The county is required to have a comprehensive plan under the state Municipal Planning Code. The county’s last plan was adopted in 2008.
The 50-member advisory committee has been meeting since March to develop the plan, a document, county officials said, to help define where the county hopes to be in the next 10 years in terms of community and economic development.
Six focus groups were formed covered business and industry, workforce and education, transportation and infrastructure, quality of life, protecting county assets and local governments. The committee is being assisted by staff from Mackin Engineering Co.
Fundamental goals developed by the committee focus on the need to grow and diversify the economy, partly by taking advantage of the county’s abundant energy resources, while continuing to preserve the county’s rural character, Robbie Matesic, executive director of the county’s economic development department, said earlier.
Energy will remain an important part of the plan. Coal continues to be produced in the county and is expected to remain a fairly stable employment base, Matesic said.
The committee also believes energy, coal and natural gas, can serve as a “launching pad” for diversification, she said. This could entail attracting industries that need inexpensive electrical energy or that may use natural gas in their manufacturing process, such as plastics or petrochemicals.
In regard to growth and diversification, the committee also is focusing on the expansion and promotion of small businesses, including those in health care, agriculture and tourism.
Part of the plan, in addition, looks at the county’s needs in regard to transportation and infrastructure – water, sewerage and broadband internet; workforce and education development and issues involving local government.