By Lon Anderson
Moorefield Examiner
“Land use planning is just hard—it’s especially hard for the volunteers who serve on the Planning Commission to balance the choices—often very hard choices,” according to Melissa Scott. “But they have done it here in Hardy County. They have done what they should do, and the County, and its future, are in a better place for it.”
And Scott should know. For the last seven years, she has served as Hardy County’s Planner and Flood Plain Manager. Scott left her post last week to take a position in the private sector.
She may be gone, but according to many who worked with her closely, her legacy will live on well into Hardy County’s future.
“The things she was doing for Hardy County put Hardy on the leading edge of planning in the state,” said Planning Commission Vice President Greg Greenwalt.
“She is one of the leading planners in the state,” echoed Jessie Richardson, Jr., the lead land use attorney in the Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic at WVU. “We use Hardy County as an example of what counties can do with good land use planning in West Virginia—and there are only a handful of counties in the state that do good land use planning.” Her work, he said, “Is a good example of striking the right balance between protecting natural resources and promoting economic development.”
“She has made us a recognized state leader in the planning field,” said County Commissioner David Workman, adding that Scott “has also kept us at the forefront of flood plain management in the state. We are a recognized leader in West Virginia in these areas because of her efforts. She’s a treasure—a real gem!”
J.R. Keplinger, a former County Commissioner and Planning Commissioner, remembers when they were hiring for the position. “We were looking for a real professional for our planning office, and she really fit the bill.” In the end, he said, “she gave us assurance that what we were trying to do with our land not only complied with the law but would protect our people and our property into the future.”
“She really understood the importance of promoting and protecting the future of agriculture in Hardy County,” Keplinger added. “She helped us do that.”
Michele Moure-Reeves, the County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau Director, offered similar praise. “Melissa’s commitment, knowledge and professionalism cannot be overstated. We are losing a person who understood the importance of her job in protecting our agricultural and recreational lands while shaping the future of land use in Hardy County.”
“Her knowledge was just unprecedented,” Greenwalt said. “Her background, combined with [private]her knowledge, her credentials—she has all of the assets that you would want in a planner. All of this made it so much easier for us as a Planning Commission to do our job.”
“Her connections with the Law Clinic, with FEMA—she knew who to ask for advice, and obviously, she knew how to move us forward,” Greenwalt added.
Another thing that made her very much appreciated, Greenwalt said, “was that she did what needed to be done—and did it correctly, regardless of the consequences.”
And sometimes there were consequences for Scott, when she occasionally bumped heads with County leadership.
“I hate to see her leave—she’s been a really good planner for us–she had all of the credentials and was such a pleasant person to work with,” said County Commissioner David “Jay” Fansler, who has also served for many years on the Planning Commission.
“Unfortunately, many folks in the County are just now figuring out how very useful she can be,” Fansler continued. “But she’s brought us a long ways and she’s has gotten us to where we need to be.”
Scott, for her part, was very complimentary of Hardy’s volunteer Planning Commission, and noted that “we have a very good Commission with a lot of experience, and experience is so important. Because we were able to work so well together, we have been able to think outside the box and interject some creativity and common sense in our land use.”
Former County Commissioner Keplinger seemed to echo those sentiments: “When you first experience planning and zoning, it’s overwhelming—it takes a while to wrap your mind around the fact that you are doing things to protect our future while also advancing the County in the present. But she could get you there and make sure that you have a plan—a good plan—to get you where you want to be.”
“People tend to think (land use) is kind of black and white, but it’s not. We’ve made a lot of hard choices over the last four years,” Scott said, referring to work they’ve been doing to update the County’s Comprehensive land use plan.
“I think the main thing is,” she continued, “that (land) planning is now just a part of the conversation in Hardy County—it’s really and truly talked about. We focus on what it is we want, and then we set goals and see how to get there.”
Workman seemed to agree when he identified one of Scott’s legacies in the County as her success in “working with the citizens’ Planning Commission to define our vision for the County’s future and to lead us into how to get there and protect that future.”
The second major legacy, Workman continued, “was her success with GIS (Geographic information systems computer software)—getting our county to recognize what a tool it is, whether for the Sherriff’s office, the Clerk’s office, the Planning office, so many county offices—it will be so essential for leading us forward.”
Scott, who has had some 25 years of experience working with the GIS system, concurred with that assessment. “I’m kind of a data nerd, and I have worked hard to bring data and raw information into the decision-making processes, and the GIS is really helpful with that. You need to be able to see it all on maps. It really helps with the decision making and is crucial to good planning.”
Scott noted that she first introduced the County to using the GIS program back in 2013, shortly after she arrived, but on a very limited basis. “Now we’re using it to track everything. There’s a GIS point for every building permit, and we now have mapped all of the BZA (Board of Zoning Appeals) decisions on properties.”
Recently Scott lead the effort to create a permanent County GIS Board, which the Commission approved. “I think they’re in place to keep this going,” she said. “The GIS Board kind of locks it in.” A representative of each of the County offices that utilize the program serves on the Board.
Thoughts she would like to leave us with? West Virginia has a lot to be proud of and needs to remember that in our dealings with developers, she explained. “We need to develop some self-respect. Too often, developers come in with proposals for projects and we accept the first thing a developer offers.” That she likens to giving away the store. She thinks we can do better.
But not many think the County can do better than Melissa Scott. “She has so many skills: she’s a GIS guru, a land planner, a flood plain manager—that’s a very rare combination,” said Richardson of the WVU Law Clinic. “You just really can’t replace Melissa.”
[/private]So what does the County’s long-time Planning Commission President Lee Lehman think? “We have been so lucky to have her for seven years — so lucky!”
