Do Logansport and Cass County need separate comprehensive plans?
City and county officials say the answer is yes.
Logansport Mayor Mike Fincher said officials had talked about combining the two plans, but he said consultants had encouraged separate plans.
County Commissioner Dick Rusk said having separate plans was important.
“Certainly the county has unique issues and the city has unique issues,” he said. “We need to take a look at both sides of this.”
Rusk said the plans would provide a detailed analysis for both city and county and would offer two different sets of goals.
Both plans were overdue for updating. The current plans were created in 1981 to set a vision for the next 20 years. Stan Williams, the city-county planning director, said the goal generally was to update the plan every 10 years.
The last time the plans were updated, one group of consultants put together both. There was one main problem with that, he said.
“They developed a very urban plan for the city and gave us the same plan for the county,” Williams said. “It did not have any innovative rural preservation. It didn’t address the issues the county was dealing with.”
This time, the city and county applied for separate grants to hire separate consultant teams and put together two separate plans. The city and county were both awarded community focus fund grants from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. Each received $50,000, which will cover all expenses, Williams said.
The city’s team will have a more urban focus, while the county’s team will take a rural and small town focus, Williams said.
Fincher said the two teams would work together for certain issues, such as land use.
While the city started the process in March, the county effort is just now getting under way.
Williams said the county held its first meeting on Monday to determine what issues needed to be addressed and to develop a plan for community involvement.
The meeting was led by a citizens advisory committee made up of representatives from different Cass County communities, said Williams. The committee’s purpose is to keep county officials and consultants on the right track.
Like the city’s plan, he said, two major factors needing to be addressed in the county’s plan are the impact of the new Ivy Tech campus and the Hoosier Heartland Corridor.
Rusk said a lot of issues will need to be addressed. He mentioned economic development, recreational opportunities and quality of life.
Fincher hopes the rewrite of the two plans will benefit both entities.
“We wanted a new focus, a new vision, something we never had before,” he said. “That is what we hope comes from this — a new vision not only for Logansport but for Cass County.”
Denise Massie can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or via e-mail at denise.massie@pharostribune.com
Local News
Related Photos
-
BIRD’S EYE VIEW: A view of Logansport from the roof of the Logansport Municipal Utilities generating plant. Both the city and county have been working on updating comprehensive plans for the future vision of the area. P-T photo | Arnold Ernest
-
FOCUS GROUP: Peggy Dillion and Tom LaDow mark points of interest on a Logansport city map during one of the recent focus groups held at Logansport High School as part of an update meeting concerning the city’s comprehensive plan. The county just started its own process for updating its own comprehensive plan. P-T file photo | Angi Turnpaugh
Discussion
Double vision
<b>City, county working on separate comprehensive plans</b>
- Local News
-
-
Snowless savings: Warm weather lowers expenses
The unseasonably warm temperatures have allowed state and local road crews to perform roadwork usually conducted in the fall, lowered Logansport Municipal Utilities electric usage and saved all departments overtime pay for employees.
-
Logansport sees jump in grad rate
Logansport High School saw its graduation rate jump four percentage points in numbers released this week by the Indiana Department of Education.
-
Officials break ground on $1.1M Eel River Run
Contractors are set to begin work on the mile-long Eel River Run trail in downtown Logansport — the result of more than eight years of planning.
-
Fifth candidate files for county council
A longtime Logansport Municipal Utilities worker and former business owner is the first Democrat to file for county office in the coming primary election.
-
Indy on top of its game: Super Bowl host city earns rave reviews
If praise and adulation could put points on the scoreboard, then Indianapolis had a blowout victory hosting its first Super Bowl.
-
$200K in back taxes owed on Logan mall
The owners of Logansport Mall owe more than $200,000 in back taxes on the building and the land it sits on, Cass County property records show.
-
Logan to pay $21K in benefits payments
The Logansport City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to pay more than $20,000 for seven years of owed retirement payments for a city employee.
-
Two candidates file bids for county council
Two Republicans filed their candidacies for at-large Cass County Council seats Monday.
-
A scientific fellow
Andrew Bever grew up on a sheep farm in Forest, about 40 miles south of Logansport, with a mind that looked at the world more deeply than what’s on the surface.
-
Fed-Mogul says hiring on track
Nearly three months after announcing it would add 94 new jobs, Federal-Mogul in Logansport has filled about one-third of the positions.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Snowless savings: Warm weather lowers expenses
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
