Commissioners hear more info on comprehensive plan, approve capital improvement plan 

PERRY — With the upcoming comprehensive plan starting to be developed, the county hosted a public hearing on the matter during Tuesday’s Commissioner meeting. 

Director of Planning and Public Administration, Greg Boike, said a comprehensive plan is like a guide for your community on how it is planned and developed over the next several years. A comprehensive plan is required by the state every five years. 

“Hopefully, this is more than just a required document that keeps you in the good graces of the state. Hopefully, this is a plan that can actually give some guidance and help the county in terms of long-term budgeting and strategic planning,” he said. 

As for the timeline of the comprehensive plan, Boike said they kicked off public engagement at the previous Commissioners meeting on Jan. 20. You can read our coverage on that town hall in the Jan. 28 edition of the HHJ.

“Our primary goal at this point is to spread the word that this plan is going to be happening, and that your involvement and engagement is going to be important to the process,” he said. 

Boike made it clear that the MGRC will not provide ideas for the plan. He said they want the public’s ideas, preferably. 

“That’s how we get a plan that works for Houston County and works for the community,” he said. “Around April through June we’ll be doing some more individualized stakeholder meetings on some of the specific topics we talked about, so that then by the end of the summer, we can work with county staff and elected officials on really honing in on the details of that work program and have a final document for public review around the October to November time frame.” 

Boike said the plan will come before the Commissioners for final adoption before Feb. 28, 2027. 

“This plan is a living document and can be updated at any time the community feels necessary for those updates,” he said. 

One citizen wondered who the stakeholders would be in these meetings. Bokie responded that it can be any group appointed by the county, including any of their boards or authorities, or anyone involved in the finer details of this plan. 

“You have a lot of experience developing these plans, so I appreciate your willingness and your team at the Middle Georgia Regional Commission and their willingness to help Houston County,” Chairman Dan Perdue said. 

Commissioners then approved a five-year capital improvement plan. According to the meeting agenda, this will serve as a “long-range planning and financial document intended to improve coordination of capital projects, enhance transparency and support informed decision making.” 

The plan is slated for FY2026 to FY2030. 

“I appreciate all the effort from you and senior county staff to compile this and to project these capital expenditure projects over this period of time,” Commissioner Mark Byrd said. 

With this plan, Perdue made clear that they will still approve individual projects and will not forgo any action by the Board. 

“[Capital improvement plan] is just a demonstration of what we plan for the next five years,” he said. “As Mr. Boike said, plans can change easily, and I hope we will continue to be responsive to the needs of our communities when it comes to capital planning.” 

The Board also approved the use of poll workers for the special Runoff Election for State Senate District 18. 

Perdue said this election will likely have a low turnout and urged those living in District 18 to get out and vote. 

The next Houston County Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the Houston County Annex in Warner Robins. The full agenda of this meeting  can be found at www.houstoncountyga.gov/minutes/2026-02-03%20Department%20Head%20Copy%20(002).pdf