Growth policy approaching final version

The Lincoln County Planning Board reviewed the draft Lincoln County Growth Policy during their meeting last Tuesday, discussing their concerns and corrections with representatives of Land Solutions, LLC.

Dave DeGrandpre, principal planner with Land Solutions, told the board that a summary of survey results available at www.planlincolncounty.com goes over more broadly some of the things addressed in the draft policy.

DeGrandpre said that the process is about six months in, and is encompassing both the growth policy and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.

“The plans have a lot in common. We thought we could save Lincoln County money by doing them both at the same time,” he said. “The growth policy is a little broader. It covers land use in a little bit more detail, it covers natural resources in a little bit more detail, road-related issues and things like that.”

So far, efforts such as the town halls held in Eureka, Libby and Troy have not drawn much community participation, and DeGrandpre said some of the best community input they received was through online surveys.

While the number of participants in the survey -- there were 373 respondents -- may not make the results statistically significant, it still gives county government some idea of what people in the county want.

Issues of importance to the planning board included having a better understanding of unemployment numbers in the county, particularly as it relates to showing potential investors that there is a workforce here.

Board member Tracy McNew pointed out that there may be more difficulties in collecting accurate data in Lincoln County, where some may simply refuse to report.

In March, Karen Murphy, with the U.S. Census Bureau, told the Lincoln County Commissioners that about a third of Lincoln County residents gave no responses to the last census.

DeGrandpre said he would look through the suggestions from the planning board, and make changes to present to the board.

The next meeting of the planning board is Tuesday, Aug. 20. However it was not concluded whether DeGrandpre will present the latest version at that meeting.