York County comprehensive plan public process begins with townhall meetings

YORK – The York County comprehensive plan public process officially kicked off Monday with two townhall meetings – one at the York Senior Center and the other at The Hatchery in Henderson. Then on Tuesday night, another meeting was held at Stone Creek Event Center in McCool Junction.

​Townhalls will be held in a variety of locations throughout the county as the comprehensive plan and zoning regulations are updated, which is done every 10 years.
The townhalls are table-top discussions with a conversation at the end to include all in attendance.
Marvin Consulting of David City is overseeing the process and facilitating the townhalls. John Shepard from Marvin Consulting explained how the comprehensive plan “is basically a business plan for the county, which shows population and economic trends, economic development needs, land use, zoning and much more. We are interested in all of York County, what is your vision to make York County a place you want to continue to live and work in?”
The consultants would ask a question and then those sitting around individual tables would talk about their answers and write them down. Shepard said all the comments written on the sheets will be compiled and the responses will be a compliment to the survey which is also being conducted at this time.
“Your responses will give us insight into what questions are to be asked and what the future of York County should look like,” Shepard told the crowds. “We want to hear your opinions, as these will give York County tools and ideas for the to-do list moving into the future.”
One question asked of the groups was “Why did you choose to live or have a business in York County?” Responses included how some attendees were born and raised here and they have lived their entire lives in York County. Others said they came to York County for business opportunities. Some said they wanted to do business in a place where they could “raise a family and a good life, without living in a big city.” In McCool, they offered, “hospitality, family legacy and heritage, schools, soil quality, family ties” and “our neighbors.”
They were also asked, “What do you like about York County?” There were many conversations about York County’s location, being close to larger cities yet having a wide variety of business offerings here. Some talked about this being a great place to farm, with high quality soil and flat lands. Other comments: “great place to raise a family, great senior centers, great parks and recreational opportunities.” Henderson participants added, “Good work ethic, low crime, philanthropy and agricultural focus.” McCool residents in attendance said they liked their location, “ag diversity, schools, aging services, health care opportunities, options in agriculture, and ‘the fact the county is square, there is a road every mile.'”
Many said they felt if more could be done to jumpstart affordable housing, it would in turn translate to more people moving here, increasing the workforce and thereby enhancing business expansions and recruitments. Most conversations about enhancing York County came back around to the need for “people willing to work” and “people to fill the jobs.” There was also the sentiment “If we had affordable housing available, we wouldn’t be able to build it fast enough because of the demand.”
“What are challenges for York County?” During the York meeting on Monday, the conversation circled back to housing and the need for more daycare, as well as “funding to get this all done.” It was reiterated how employees are needed for most businesses, which could expand if they had enough workers. Henderson participants said an ongoing challenge is “attracting youth back and keeping people involved in their community, having more medical and mental health services, reducing taxes and ridding the county of blighted properties such as the condition of the Henderson interchange.” In McCool Junction, attendees said, “Getting the tax base where it needs to be and balanced, more daycares, affordable housing, attracting young people to move and stay here, more quality mid-level housing.” And McCool area residents say they want to see changes in zoning, “because the way it is set up now, you don’t know what you can do and what you can’t do.”
“How would you describe the ideal York County 20 years from now?” the consultants asked. A York attendee said they would “like to see more people in our churches and more utilization of all the great features we already have, like our libraries and museums and senior centers.” Many in the York meeting said they would like to see growth in population – which again translated back to the need for affordable housing and daycare offerings. Henderson participants said they would like to see steady growth “but not explosive growth, the absence of solar or wind projects on productive agricultural land, the addition of more recreational areas.” In McCool Junction, attendees said they want to see “consistency with incremental growth, more recreation offerings, families to be able to afford homes, good jobs, keeping agriculture green and more business opportunities.”
The remaining townhall meetings will be held: June 6, Gresham Community Hall, 6 p.m.; June 10, Waco Community Hall, 6 p.m.; June 11, Benedict Community Hall, 6 p.m.; June 16, Cornerstone Event Center at the York County Fairgrounds, 6 p.m.
Meanwhile, York County residents are also encouraged to participate in a survey being conducted to assist with the process of updating the county’s comprehensive plan.
The survey collects public input regarding building economic growth, shaping housing, enhancing parks and recreation, improving roads and infrastructure, ensuring public safety and services, and sharing local perspectives about a number of topics. There also questions about zoning, renewable energy projects, rural residential acreages, preservation of history, responsiveness of county officials, infrastructure and more.
Simply go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YorkCoCompPlan to take the survey.
The answers will remain anonymous and cannot be traced back to the participant. Consultants ask that participants only answer the survey once.
It takes about 15-20 minutes to complete the entire survey.
Physical copies of the survey can also be picked up at the York County Clerk’s office, which is located on the main floor of the courthouse.