BY BILL GUIDA
bguida@kenoshanews.com

PLEASANT PRAIRIE — The Village Board will consider approving a planning document Monday, even though local officials have called it “lame” and “a train wreck.”

Specifically, the board will consider the “Intergovernmental Cooperation Element” of the Multi-Jurisdictional Comprehensive Plan for Kenosha County, required under the state’s Smart Growth legislation and advanced by the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

The chief concerns with the document, voiced by Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff and Assistant Planner Peggy Herrick, regard its lack of wording about ensuring cost effective cooperation from municipalities, with particular emphasis on maintaining — at a minimum — levels of service for residents.

When it came before the Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission last week, Commissioner David Hackbarth said it failed to spell out who would settle disputes that could arise.

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“It’s a nice guide, but you need to know who will mediate in the case of conflicts,” he said.

Pollocoff agreed. He called it “a train wreck,” saying it neglected to include consultation with communities ahead of time and “threw out all the big pieces” dealing with solid waste, sewer and water.

“These guys have really taken the easy way out on this. The big ticket items where you’d expect it (intergovernmental cooperation), there was nothing there,” Pollocoff said. “It was just lame. A lot more intensive study needs to take place.”

He wondered whether “junior planners” drafted it, unaware of potential tension between municipalities and the county.

Nancy Anderson, SEWRPC chief community assistance planner, said she and two other veteran planners worked on the draft. She said village concerns were duly noted and incorporated in previous elements drafted for the comprehensive plan, which Herrick acknowledged last week before the Plan Commission.

But, Anderson added, “I understand where they’re coming from. They have a high level of services and want to make sure that’s not compromised.”

Pollocoff said Police Chief Brian Wagner and Fire Chief Paul Guilbert also added numerous concerns of their own to the draft. But when the commission asked whether Pollocoff advised rejecting it, Pollocoff recommended approval, thereby sending it to the Village Board.

“Every community has their own ideas about what to fund or don’t want to fund,” he told the commission. “This will probably wind up on a shelf. Given the inadequacy of this, I’d probably be happy with that.”