Bob Fredrickson of Ellsworth voiced concerns at the Nov. 22 meeting of the Ellsworth County commission on the lack of public attendance at meetings dealing with the Ellsworth County Comprehensive Plan.

“I’ve had a lot of experience from beginning to end on comprehensive plans, strategic plans,” said Fredrickson, a past president of the Rolling Hills Electric Cooperative board of directors. “I know the process and what needs to be done.”

Fredrickson said there were five people in attendance at the last meeting, which was Oct. 12 at the J. H. Robbins Memorial Library in Ellsworth.

Commissioner Greg Bender said North Central Regional Planning Commission in Beloit approached commissioners in February with a proposal for a survey to gather public input on what direction they would like to see the county go in the future.

“They (NCRPC) are funding it with grant money,” Bender noted. “It’s not costing the county anything.”

The plan includes Ellsworth, Lincoln and Clay counties.

“In your mind, do you think it was a plan for future things for the county to do, or do you think it might just be a resource they were producing,” Fredrickson asked. “There’s a lot of information (here) you would use in the future to make decisions.”

Bender said in his opinion, the survey results would not be something that was “engraved in stone.”

“It was just going to be an idea — a study — on where the residents want the county to go,” he added.

Fredrickson asked whether commissioners had appointed a point person to coordinate with Marvin Planning Consultants, the NCRPC on the distribution of the surveys to gather public input. He was told the com

He was told the commissioners were not involved in that process.

Fredrickson said at the first meeting, Marvin Planning Consultants relied on the survey, which had a very poor turnout.

He said that survey wasn’t communicated effectively with county residents.

“They sent out a card that was half-way effective,” Fredrickson noted. “They got about another 160 more people on the survey. I think the communication to the county people has been very lax.”

Fredrickson said there has been a lack of stakeholder input at the last two meetings.

“This last meeting was postponed from an earlier date,” he said. “It seems like if the county had a point person, they would have realized there was a main event going on the same night. The most recent one (meeting) should have been postponed.”

Fredrickson asked if the commissioners wanted the stakeholders in Ellsworth County to participate in this process or do they just want an outside organization to gather information for what he called an “almanac” that can be referenced.

“I think at those meetings, that’s where the public, whoever did these surveys, can put their two cents in,” Bender said. “Yeah, I wish people would be at these meetings. Like you said there were five of us the last time.”

Fredrickson said the most recent report handed out at the meeting contained a lot of errors.

“Somehow you need to get the stakeholders in this county to the meetings,” he said. “That means communication.”

In addition to the commissioners, Fredrickson said all elected officials in the county should attend as well as the major employers.

“Those are the stakeholders that should be giving input to this report or seeing it to say that’s not correct,” he said. “I don’t think you can really put full faith in it to use it as a resource.”

Fredrickson said if nobody is going to participate — especially the stakeholders — why even do it?

“You’ve got to have county input,” Fredrickson noted.

“An ad in the newspaper or social media isn’t enough,” said Stacie Schmidt, executive director of the Ellsworth County Economic Development. “You have to make phone calls in this community.”

Schmidt said she agreed with Fredrickson.

“I wanted to make sure that you all knew that I called (NCRPC) and expressed that we were really disappointed in the process, in the product,” she said.

Schmidt was told similar problems are occurring in Lincoln County, but Clay County seems to be going well.

“I believe the reason is because Marvin Consulting subcontracted for Ellsworth and Lincoln Counties, so there is a whole lack of accountability,” she said. “At minimum, North Central Regional needs to send someone. They need to check up on this product they are paying for.”

Schmidt said she would not use the report in its current form as a resource.

Fredrickson said the county should be ready to deal with funds that filter down from the federal government to the state, which, in turn, filters down to local counties and communities.

“I really think you guys need to go back and review that maybe in the county it’s time you need a county administrator,” he said. “A lot of things that are going to be happening that are going to take a lot of work, research and communication with Topeka on a regular basis, and with the neighboring counties. Your job as the county commissioners, you’re the final decisionmakers, but you don’t have time or the expertise to do all the leg work that is necessary.”

Fredrickson said although it would cost the county some money, he thought a good county administrator could save the county money on a lot of things that go on in the operation of the county.

“It would give you a point person on a lot of things that could be planned for the future and to take care of current issues,” he added.

In other business: • Approval was given to close county

• Approval was given to close county offices on Dec. 27 as well as Dec. 24 for Christmas. Employees of the sheriff ’s office and EMS would receive holiday pay for working on those two days.

• Approval was given to Gallagher serving as the consultant for the 2022 county employee health insurance policy.

• Approval was given to give Nan Wooten the unused 1896 era chair in the district court room which was built by her great-great grandfather, C. J. Fishburn.

“We’d like to keep it in our family,” Wooton said.

“I don’t see any issues with that,” Bender said.

The next meeting of the Ellsworth County commissioners will be at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 6, at the county courthouse.