Montgomery County Commissioners officially adopted an updated Comprehensive Plan at Tuesday’s meeting.
The original plan was adopted in 2016 and the state recommends the plan to be revised every five years.
Members of the Montgomery County Plan Commission gave the revised plan a favorable recommendation.
The updated plan was created over the course of the past year with the help of several focus group meetings and input from community members. Fifty-six representatives of small business, industry, eduction, agriculture and land owners participated.
County government officials use the plan as a vision and guiding document for decision making in regards to future growth and development. Economic development, prosperity, residential growth and quality of life are all addressed in the document.
The plan’s focus areas remain the same as in the 2016 plan. The areas are business retention/expansion, business attraction, talent attraction/development, community marketing and community economic growth.
The plan recognizes the county’s agricultural heritage and the preservation of agriculture.
The plan update includes the integration of health and wellness.
The plan can be viewed at the Montgomery County Government Center, Crawfordsville District Public Library and on the county’s website at www.montgomerycounty.in.gov.
Commissioners contracted with BLN Engineering to complete appraisals for the county courthouse and the county home in the amount of $20,000. Appraisals for the courthouse are needed in order to fund the upcoming renovations. The county home appraisal is needed as part of an ongoing agreement with Trinity Life Missions.
Commissioners opened the only bid received for road work to be completed with funds from the Community Crossroads Grant. The bid was from Pavement Solutions Inc. in the amount of $1,635,272. The engineer’s estimate was higher at $1,725,954. Commissioners took the bid under advisement.
Commissioners and Montgomery County Sheriff Ryan Needham presented Detective Aaron French with a special recognition award for his work in a large child pornography /child sexual exploitation case that occurred in several states including Montgomery County. The investigation took many months and resulted in the perpetrator receiving a 90-year prison sentence.
Commissioner introduced an ordinance that will vacate Jackson Street and an unimproved alley in Parkersburg.
The next commissioners’ meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. June 10.
