Regional Planning Commission hires county engineer’s office
COSHOCTON – Coshocton County Regional Planning Commission has decided to contract with the Coshocton County Engineer’s Office to handle day-to-day operations of the planning commission. The commission took this action at their regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 18.
The commission had been exploring various opportunities since the resignation of the executive director in August. According to Frederick T. Wachtel, Coshocton County Engineer, the move makes good economic and government sense.
“Our office has been actively involved with the planning commission for many years, so we offered this solution to the regional planning commission and the county commissioners as a way to streamline the office and ultimately save the county thousands of dollars in operational costs,” he said.
The move is effective on Oct. 1 and designed to be as seamless as possible for everyone who regularly uses the planning commission. The physical office will be located at the county engineer’s office at 23194 County Road 621, Coshocton, while the existing phone number of 740-622-7776 will remain the same.
“We will continue all of the existing services of the planning commission and plans are already in motion to update the website with more information and enhancements,” said Wachtel.
He characterized the enhancements as additional information on land development, a frequently asked questions page, and a flowchart of the subdivision process. The website address will also remain the same at www.coshoctoncounty.net/rpc or under the agencies listing on the county website.
Wachtel noted it is important for everyone to understand that the application fees, rules and regulations of the planning commission have not changed, only the location of the office and the people staffing the office.
“Only the Coshocton County Commissioners can modify or change the subdivision regulations through a process detailed in the Ohio Revised Code,” said Wachtel. “The planning commission will continue to meet monthly as long as there is business to be conducted.”
The monthly meetings of the planning commission are the third Monday of the month held at the Frontier Power community room beginning at 7 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.
Businesses and residents wishing to discuss land development are encouraged to schedule an appointment with Wachtel or his staff to ensure availability.
“We will have someone answering the phones during normal working hours and we have already addressed our staff on the need to communicate information efficiently and effectively to our constituents,” he said.
The online resource of the property division review log will also be maintained by his office. The log provides updated information on the status of a subdivision or lot split request as it moves through the various review agencies.
Category: Government
