The Board of County Commissioners approved a $50,000 transfer from general fund reserve into the Planning Commission’s fund to supplement money the department has saved and allow the county to enter into a consultant contract to update the master plan.

Planning staff said the county has not updated its master plan since February 2008 and that an update is typically done every five to 10 years. Initial estimates for the update had been near $270,000, but planning staff said in-house work and staged spending reduced the expected contract range to about $210,000–$220,000. Planning staff said they did much of the initial surveying and reporting internally to save money.

Staff described the master plan as a 30-year land-use document focused on the county’s unincorporated areas: zoning, residential patterns, infrastructure, demographics, and public preferences. Planning staff said consultants are needed because daily operations leave limited staff capacity to manage a full master plan process. The consultant would support public engagement, drafting and mapping; the planning commission will maintain regular updates during the project.

Commissioners discussed coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and utilities (for example, Oklahoma City water and sewer lines that cross county areas). Planning staff said the project will include public meetings — one in each commissioner district — and that the contract is likely to run at least 18 months from start to presentation.

The $50,000 supplement was approved by voice vote during the meeting.