Gage County Considering Making Planning and Zoning Contact Information Public

By Gordon HopkinsThe Gage County Board of Supervisors is debating whether or not to make contact information for the county's Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commissioners available to the public.Ashley Mason, a candidate for Beatrice Mayor in 2022, addressed the Board of Supervisors at a meeting on Wednesday, December 28, 2022. She noted that, currently, the only contact information for P&Z on the county's website is a mailing address.Currently, P&Z administrator Lisa Wiegand forwards any questions or concerns to commissioners but Wiegand indicated she does not follow up with any queries.Mason requested that email addresses be made available so that members of the public could reach commissioners directly. She noted that, in her opinion, email is a more efficient method of communication.Wiegand said she prefers that county email addresses be set up for the commissioners.Gage County Supervisor Eddie Dorn pointed out that P&Z Commissioners are volunteers and, as such, he felt they should not be required to publish their contact information.County Supervisor Don Schuller disagreed. He is of the opinion that the public should be able to reach commissioners directly. He recently said, “I stated that any person who volunteers to serve on a board, such as a school board, township board, village board, or city council, etc., should be willing to be available to the public in some way. If not, they are not a desirable selection for the board.”One of the issues facing the P&Z Board are regulations for solar energy development, which has proven to be contentious.There is currently a moratorium on commercial solar energy permits in the county as commissioners review regulations. Once the commissioners have settled on regulations, they will forward their recommendations to the board of supervisors.The next P&Z meeting is on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the supervisor’s room of the courthouse. Solar energy regulations are on the agenda.

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