Resumption of Capital Improvement Program Goes Forward at County Planning Commission Meeting

At a work session on September 9, the County Planning Commission heard from Planning Director Kelly Wahl about the resumption of the Capital Improvement Program that was shuttered in 2023. Interim County Administrator Jane Meadows assisted her in explaining to the commissioners that planning and zoning and the administration are seeking the most efficient way to balance various projects that ultimately come before the supervisors for budgetary consideration. The Capital Improvement Program, as it is currently being imagined, would eliminate any arbitrary element in the final appropriation of funds, allowing projects to succeed based on objective priority rather than which department makes the best pitch.

The County Planning Commission met for a work session and a regular meeting on September 9. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

Before the commissioners was a project book, which Wahl explained is not the CIP itself but rather an instrument within it. She likened the CIP to a pot of money and the book to an ask for that money. It gives commissioners a chance to rank twelve priority categories, such as health, safety, and welfare, on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being the most urgent, for projects related to facilities, infrastructure, and outstanding needs. Each project is included in that book with the relevant forms for commissioners to complete. Because the commission has the power of recommendation, its collective assessment of which projects are highest priority will influence the supervisors’ final appropriation.

(L) Planning Director Kelly Wahl and (R) Interim County Administrator Jane Meadows.

Although hard copy is an option, Wahl affirmed that commissioner assessments will also be recorded digitally. Thus, it will become a public document before it goes to the supervisors. She explained that with a prospective 5-year planning window from 2028-2032, this will be an evolving process with room for adjustments. This approach assumes that the unexpected will happen, that people change and therefore their needs change, and so putting those needs within a flexible framework that can be updated yearly, commencing in August, will minimize heartburn as decisions are made as objectively as possible. If not outside of the box, Wahl is being realistic, solidly within the box.

 Watch the Warren County Planning Commission Meeting of September 9, 2026