The working group will “participate in drafting goals and strategies and to act as a general sounding board for both educational forum/focus group issues and plan elements,” according to the commission’s staff memo.
Tubbs and Hackley will serve as “liaisons to help staff keep the planning commission informed on group activities. The two were elected on individual votes following discussion about the need to choose two planning commission representatives with differing views in order to strike an “ideological balance” on the working group.
Commissioners Mike Duncan and Dave Cozzens agreed to work with planning staff to help select citizen members of the working group from a list of residents who volunteer to serve on the group.
The first meeting of the working group was originally scheduled for July 29, but that date is likely to be postponed to give more time to set up the group, Grand County Planning Coordinator Mary Hofhine said.
The goals and strategies, to be developed with assistance from the working group, will be based on a “community vision” currently being developed by RPI Consultants, the company hired to complete the county master plan update.
A draft vision statement, based on a workshop held last week, will be presented to the public at a “vision verification” meeting on July 22, according to Gabe Preston, managing partner with RPI.
“Participants get a chance to use keypad polling, allowing them to provide electronic feedback anonymously,” Preston said. “Polling results will appear on a screen instantly.” The verified vision statement will then become the guide for creation of goals and strategies.
Residents who attend the July 22 meeting may volunteer for the working group at the registration desk, according to planning staff.
Group members will be selected to “represent a broad cross-section of the community,” according to a staff report. Individuals with knowledge of transportation, agriculture, trails, land development, local business, affordable housing, and water, will get priority, according to the staff report.
Other qualifications for group membership are county residency, the ability to attend about eight meetings, “and willingness to facilitate the flow of information into and out of the group,” according to the report.
Gender, race, age, and income diversity are also high on the selection criteria, the report states. All meetings will be open to the public.
Staff members suggested that representation from the cities of Moab and Castle Valley should be determined by each entity’s planning commission.