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The purpose of the Comprehensive Plan for Lee
County is the culmination of efforts volunteered by residents throughout the
County and by County officials. It is
that effort that clearly stands as the most valuable organizational
resource—its people. The Plan
discusses the focus of the county during the next ten to twenty years and
develops action strategies for addressing those issues. As a policy guide and information source,
the Plan serves to stimulate and identify new areas of services that may be
offered while continuing to evaluate its current cache of programs.
Lee County leaders will use the
Plan as a standard measure to determine if goals are being achieved. They will adapt the Plan as the needs of
the county change. Just as the county
is dynamic, so is the Plan an ever-changing document, to be reviewed and
updated periodically by the Board.
Public leaders should use the Plan to direct the county’s goals and
objectives for the short and long-term future.
Nine subcommittees consisting
of Lee County residents and county professionals identified the following
items for the Lee County Board of Supervisor to address in the next ten
years. For a more detailed look into
these items please refer to Chapter 1: Subcommittee Reports.
- Provide monetary
assistance to the cities for economic development projects.
- Establish a coordinated
countywide marketing group inclusive of the cities, with city
representation, investment and voting privileges.
- Establish a task
force to investigate value added agricultural opportunities.
- Establish a core
county group to write grants for any government entity in Lee County.
- Do a feasibility
study on consolidation of county services into one location.
- Promote development
of commercial services and entertainment opportunities in Lee County.
Parks, Recreation, &
Lifestyles
1.
Form
a volunteer board representing all aspects of parks, recreation, and life-
styles in Lee County that would meet quarterly to discuss the upcoming events
throughout Lee County. Also, this group could work at developing new
countywide events. We feel this board would help to improve the lack of
coordination and communication that currently exists in Lee County.
2. Develop a complete list of all
the activities, events, and opportunities that currently exist in Lee County.
Once this list is compiled work to do a better job of educating the citizens
of Lee County of all that is already here and available to them in Lee
County.
- Work with the local governments and
volunteer fishing groups to bring back the Bass tournaments to Lee
County. These are great events and need to come back to Lee County.
- Coordination and communication improvements
between county and city governments and between recreational volunteer
groups.
5.
Landowners should be encouraged to establish
woodland to protect livestock, buildings, crops, soil and habitat for
wildlife.
6.
We must act responsibly so that Natural Resources
of Lee County can be preserved, protected, conserved, and enhanced for future
generations.
The subcommittee for Health and
Human Services was established to provide input and recommendations that can
be included in the Lee County Comprehensive Plan. The committee is pleased to
provide this summary report of findings and recommendations on five significant
areas of emphasis that include:
·
Day Care
·
Health care
·
Human Services
·
Mental Health
·
Senior Living Issues and Programs
The committee established a
framework of evaluation and analysis for each of these five areas of Health
& Human Services emphasis. The
overall framework used attempted to utilize five specific criteria or
measures for each of these significant areas in order to establish goals and
objectives in each area. The specific
criteria used to measure effectiveness included; Quality of Services,
Quantity of Services, Affordability of Services, Accessibility of Services,
Awareness & Knowledge of Services.
The overall committee goals and
objectives are as follows:
1.
"To analyze and evaluate each of the
five areas of emphasis to determine their current status and identify
opportunities for improvement in each."
2.
"To make
recommendations for inclusion in the development of an overall Lee County
Comprehensive Plan."
3.
"To provide a
'reality check' overlay of our economic, demographic, and political
environment in which these needs and those identified by other subcommittees
can be addressed and/or modified for maximum effectiveness and utilization of
limited resources."
1. According to the Land Use
Subcommittees’ Survey, 95% of those surveyed were against any zoning in the
rural areas of Lee County.
2. According to the Land Use
Subcommittees’ Survey, 99% of those surveyed feel that landowners should
guide land use.
- According to the Land Use Subcommittees’
Survey, 100% of the persons who responded wish to maintain current control
of their property.
4. By remaining free of zoning and
land use controls, Lee County will maintain a distinct advantage over other
counties that are so restricted.
5. We oppose a methodology in
which a city designates an area of land to be under its’ economic control and
restricts all economic activity on that land for the purpose of its’ own
economic gain.
6. There is no need for
extraterritorial zoning in the county, due to the lack of economic growth.
Education
- Promote the establishment of a centralized
job-training program in Lee County.
- Enhance the education budget of existing
county agencies and county supported services.
- Increase support for libraries in Lee
County.
- Establish a 501.3c non-profit corporation
for the purpose of applying for and administrating grants for
educational purposes.
- Establish a broad based communication policy
to include, but not limited to, inter-departmental, inter-governmental
agencies, schools, businesses, industries, and the general public.
- Enlarge the grant writing capabilities of
Lee County.
- Expand the technology capabilities of Lee
County.
Transportation
- Alternative modes
of transportation.
- Improvements in the
condition of the transportation system throughout the county.
- Continue to explore
funding avenues.
- Plan development
according to the existing transportation system and the proposed
improved transportation system.
- Coordinate
transportation projects with the public and local governments.
Public Safety
1.
Continue to provide funding for new equipment and
training necessary for adequate protection.
- Educate and inform
the public and private sectors of the county on the importance of fire
safety.
- Make sure all
future development is adequately protected.
- Encourage
continuous coordination among all fire and rescue departments in the
county.
Housing
1.
Affordable housing.
2.
Improve existing housing in the county.
3.
Encourage diversity in the housing types
throughout the county.
4.
Address the housing needs of the county.
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