Commissioners seek vision

County commissioners will have a special “vision” meeting Thursday to define a clear direction on economic development.

The brainstorming session will follow the commissioner’s end-of-month “pay day” meeting that starts at 9 a.m.

The meeting grew out of a plea from planning and zoning commission chairman Josh Weiser for the county officials to “come out with a collective vision.

“What’s your vision for the county?” he asked commissioners last week. “It would help to understand the cohesiveness of county government here.”

Planning and zoning anticipates working on a comprehensive plan for development, he said, but it’s a rudderless effort without guidance on what commissioners see for the future.

The urgency, Weiser said, was amplified by a request for a conditional-use permit for a fiber optic substation in the southwest part of the county.

He reported trying to keep a lid on community concerns about the facility’s potential connection to data center development. An overarching plan would help guide decisions, he said.

Commissioner Kent Becker, who called for the meeting, said Weiser’s request “seemed like a pretty open-ended question, but to me I think he’s asking for vision of what direction the county needs to go in the future with wind farms and data centers and all that.”