The Knox County commissioners met last Thursday to establish a process for finalizing the 2025 Knox County Comprehensive Plan, which outlines long-term strategies for managing growth, development, and land use across the county. New commissioners Drenda Keesee and Barry Lester joined existing Commissioner Bill Pursel to move the plan forward.
According to the current draft, the purpose of the 2025 plan is to balance "decisions regarding growth and development [with] a robust economy, providing homes for current and future generations, and protecting the county's agricultural heritage and natural landscapes."
Much of the discussion at the meeting focused on setting up a process and timeline for final approval. Jeff Gottke, president of the Knox County Area Development Foundation and project lead for Together Knox, outlined a process that includes 11 public meetings and the opportunity for the public to provide input online.
“The city has already gone through their process, the same with regional planning. That’s reflected here. We just need your feedback on how you want to approach approval,” Gottke said.
Under the current timeline, the plan is expected to be approved in March. The three entities that need to approve the plan are the Regional Planning Commission, the city of Mount Vernon, and Knox County.
Approval by Knox County townships is not required. However, many townships are represented on the Regional Planning Commission. Townships may also endorse the 2025 plan after it is adopted.
Commissioner Keesee said she wants to ensure townships have input before the county approves the plan.
“I like hearing their feedback, though, as well. Maybe we can get that a different way, but as commissioners I’m thinking I want to hear their feedback,” Keesee said.
Mount Vernon Mayor Matthew Starr indicated other local entities might also want to participate in the process.
“For example, yesterday the Knox County Transportation Advisory Council met,” Starr said. “I mentioned this was coming and that they may want to endorse the plan. They realize the value of the endorsement for grants.”
The 2025 plan covers a wide range of issues, including conservation, development, workforce, housing, quality of life, and mobility. Implementing the plan will involve several projects, programs, and policies.
The first step will be to create a Plan Implementation Task Force. As implementation progresses, plan priorities will be integrated into county and city annual budget discussions.
The plan’s implementation will also likely include the creation of a new county position to “identify and secure grants for plan-related activities.”
Approval of the plan by Knox County will include two public hearings, likely one in the evening and one during the day. According to Mayor Starr, the city will likely “give the plan three readings.”
“We meet twice a month, not twice a week, so it’s going to take us a little bit longer,” Starr said. “We did want to make sure that we time things up so that if the county had any changes, we were not approving anything until the county has its changes done.
