Powder River County Wants Your Input

Submitted by Julie Emmons

Powder River County is beginning the process of updating the Powder River County Growth Policy.

A growth policy is an official guidance document meant to provide the County Commissions and the residents of the County with a list of opportunities or issues that should be addressed or prepared for. The growth policy will be based upon an evaluation of conditions and trends in the County. The process will include an analysis on topics ranging from housing, land use and economic development to local services, public safety and natural resources. Ultimately, a County would identify concrete goals it can work toward and the specific steps and resources needed to make them a reality.

In the end, a growth policy is a planning document meant to guide the County as they prepare for future changes. For example, Powder River County will likely use the update of its growth policy to focus on the economic and community impacts related to its’ natural resource economy primarily including agriculture, oil, and to a certain extent, the neighboring coal industry.

The success of these updates will depend upon the thoughts and advice of County residents. There will several ways for residents to participate. In November, the county, in conjunction with the Southeastern Montana Development Corporation will host an open house in Broadus on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at 5:15pm, at the Courthouse Election Room.

In addition to the open house, Powder River County will be developing an online survey that residents can easily use to identify their concerns and priorities on their own schedule and at their own pace. Online links to the surveys will be advertised to residents as soon as the surveys are ready for distribution. The survey will also be available in hardcopy form at select locations. For more information about these projects, you can contact either Jerry Grebenc at Great West Engineering (406-495-6153, [email protected]) or Julie Emmons with Southeastern Montana Development Corporation (406-853-6900, julie @semdc.org).