FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A comprehensive plan, in simplest terms, defines a community’s goals and aspirations for the future. For this initiative, each town’s comprehensive plan will identify their goals for the future – from the types of growth desired to new parks or amenities to new road or utility improvements. The process will start by identifying big ideas each town has for their future and issues that need to be solved. Strategies and action steps will be developed that are specific to each town to achieve their ideas or address their issues. The result will be a plan that provides clear direction on what should be done in the short, mid, and long-range timeframes. Each plan will be adopted by the respective Town Council before being forwarded to the Harrison County Plan Commission and Harrison County Commissioners to be adopted as an amendment to the Harrison County Comprehensive Plan (note that Corydon’s plan will forwarded to the Corydon Plan Commission and adopted by the Corydon Town Council since they have their own plan commission).
What is an
Asset Management Plan?
An Asset Management Plan is a simple document that inventories local roads and transportation infrastructure, rates the conditions of pavement and bridges, identifies the available funding and solutions for maintaining them, and develops a local management plan for those assets. This plan can consist of a simple spreadsheet and database and is required if a local community applies for the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program through Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). This program provides funding to local communities for road paving and reconstruction, preservation of existing roads, and limited sidewalk improvements.
How are these plans different from what the county creates?
The hope of the Town Planning Initiative is that each of the town Comprehensive Plans (with the exception of Corydon since they have their own Plan Commission) will form a base for when the county’s comprehensive plan is updated. The county also prepares an annual Asset Management Plan for all roads owned by the county. Each town’s asset management plans will not include federal, state, or county roads.
Who will be providing the direction of each plan?
While HCCF is a partner to help each town identify and achieve their goals, this planning initiative is a grassroots effort – meaning the issues that need to be solved and the big ideas for the future MUST come from the people, workers, and businesses of each of our towns. The ultimate goal with this initiative is to empower the local communities to create a strategic plan for their future! These plans will not be as successful without participation from those who live and work there.
Project Planning Process
Project News
The Harrison County Community Foundation (HCCF) has received a Community Leadership (Implementation) Grant of $90,000 as part of the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative. With the grant, the community foundation will provide resources and support for all 10 incorporated towns in Harrison County to create or update a Comprehensive Plan and an Asset Management Plan to leverage outside funding for infrastructure projects.
Read More here.