Richland County Natural Resources Committee members voted to approve pursuing a Department of Agriculture grant and contracting with the Southwest Regional Planning Commission to update the county farmland preservation plan.

Staff said the total cost of the plan update is about $20,000, with the Department of Agriculture grant covering just over $10,000. The update must be completed and accepted by the Department of Agriculture no later than Dec. 31 next year. Trish (staff) will sign the contract after committee approval.

Separately, staff outlined problems with the county's public GIS website after new 2025 aerial photos were added: large files and multiple layers caused the public map to hang. Staff and MSA engineers reported temporarily removing the 2025 photos and blocking a large background file to restore performance. They proposed a three-year approach that would provide dedicated Esri seats plus a monitoring system at an estimated $30,200 to avoid piecemeal fixes that could exceed $70,000.

"So the grant is part of it ... this would be a 3 year contract with all that stuff in for this 30,200," staff said while describing the Esri licensing and monitoring approach. Committee discussed NG9-1-1 grant timing; staff said the NG9-1-1 grant program is being revamped and did not have an application round this year.

The committee approved the farmland preservation planning contract and supported using grant funds to address GIS licensing and mapping performance, voting in favor by voice vote.