Jasper Common Council adopts comprehensive plan update

Jasper–The Jasper Common Council adopted an update to the city’s comprehensive plan at last week’s regular meeting.

The plan, titled “Comprehensive Plan Update 2035 – The Future Is Now,” replaces the city’s 2019 plan. It grew out of more than a year of public meetings, surveys, and task forces run by consultants WGI, Jon Stover & Associates and Future iQ.

Courtney Powell, WGI’s project manager for the update, led the council through an overview of the plan, which drew on input from multiple sources, including community meetings and a survey that drew 1,289 responses, according to the consultants.

“This is not our plan. This is your plan,” said Powell.

The plan is meant to guide growth, zoning and public spending for about the next decade. Indiana does not require cities to have a comprehensive plan, but state law bars a city from adopting zoning rules without one, so Jasper must have a comprehensive plan.

Adoption does not commit money. The plan states that listing a project is not funding approval or a commitment of city resources. Each project still has to go through the normal budget process. As Powell told the council, the plan is a guide, not a predictor.

Historically, city administrations have not shelved these plans. Projects and initiatives outlined in past plans have come to fruition; for example, the Regional Wellness Center being built was identified as a priority project in the last comprehensive plan.

Jasper by the numbers

The consultants included demographic information about the city. Jasper’s population is about 17,000. The largest age group is 55 to 64. A central challenge, the plan says, is drawing people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, which it calls a “missing demographic.”

The city has also become more diverse. According to U.S. Census and Esri data cited in the plan, residents identifying as white alone fell from 94% in 2010 to an estimated 85% in 2025. The Hispanic population is estimated to have risen from 7.6% to 12.2%.

Median household income is $65,637. The unemployment rate hovers between 2 and 3 percent. About 12,000 people commute into Jasper for work, while almost 4,500 residents work outside the city.

Powell said workforce talks during the process were “less about creating jobs and more about ensuring there are enough people, housing options, transportation options, amenities to support the continued economic success.”

In a prioritization survey scored from 1 to 10, the top action was investing in utility systems, at 8.64. Next came partnering with employers and schools to train workers (8.46) and expanding opportunities for youth and young adults (8.38).

What’s in the plan

The plan is built on five “pillars”: community fabric, city growth, connectivity and collaboration, workforce and economic development, and quality-of-life amenities.

Listed steps include a utility capacity study, a new wastewater treatment plant, finishing Phase 1 of the Regional Wellness Center, an infill housing program modeled on one in South Bend, and development near the proposed Mid-States Corridor.

Several steps reach past city limits. They include planning for possible county-wide zoning, a path toward a county Advisory Planning Commission and a study of the benefits of annexation.

What happens next

With the plan adopted, responsibility shifts from the consultants to the city and its partners, Powell said.

The consultants met with city department leaders the afternoon before the vote to start turning the plan’s action items into a work plan. “We all went back to grade school,” Powell told the council, describing the worksheets used to sort out steps, partners and possible early wins.

In the first 90 days, the city will form a leadership team, assign a “champion” for each of the five pillars, and begin tracking progress. Powell said the leadership team could include the mayor, a council representative and the Community Development and Planning Department. Champions would keep work moving within a pillar but would not be responsible for every item in it, she said.

Within the first year, the plan is to be tied to the city’s annual work plan, backed by a funding strategy and reported to the public. The plan calls for an online dashboard to track progress.

Over the next one to three years, Powell pointed to updating the city’s zoning and development rules, advancing housing efforts and key infrastructure projects and continuing workforce, transportation and downtown investments.

The plan calls for yearly reviews, a minor update at five years and a full rewrite at 10.

You can view the plan and process at this link https://lab2.future-iq.com/jasper-comp-plan/