Ricky Gleason, candidate for Kendall County Judge, has unveiled a practical planning framework designed to guide the county's growth while respecting property rights and ensuring transparency. The approach emphasizes structured, ongoing collaboration over reactive or top-down mandates. Gleason stated that planning only matters if it guides how resources and taxpayer dollars are prioritized, with the goal being clarity, coordination, and decisions that respect property rights and protect quality of life.
Gleason's model organizes planning into three actionable phases. The first phase, covering zero to three years, focuses on operational fixes to address immediate safety, mobility, and emergency response needs based on verified conditions while avoiding unnecessary regulation. The second phase, spanning three to ten years, involves capital alignment to sequence infrastructure investments, especially where mobility and water intersect, to prevent costly taxpayer mistakes. The third phase, extending ten to twenty-five years, centers on scenario planning to engage citizens in shaping long-range water sustainability and growth patterns through input-driven, flexible guidance.
Good planning isn't about controlling land or telling people what they can't do, according to Gleason. It's about structuring a process that protects property rights while ensuring growth, infrastructure, and public safety are handled responsibly. Central to this approach is using planning to guide, not dictate, outcomes. By engaging landowners early during subdivision or project proposals, the county can collaborate on solutions rather than resorting to reactive measures like eminent domain. Gleason emphasized that the county should not be in the business of taking land or dictating outcomes, noting that the best planning opportunities happen early by working with property owners to avoid heavy-handed solutions later.
Gleason stressed that Kendall County must lead its own planning efforts before engaging regional or state partners. If the county doesn't come to the table with its own plan, someone else will plan for it, he said, adding that residents want leadership that does the work locally first, then partners regionally to support that vision. With rapid growth straining roads, water resources, and emergency services, Gleason's framework aims to replace short-term fixes with a coordinated, long-term strategy that protects property rights, reduces regulatory overreach, involves citizens and experts in decision-making, aligns infrastructure spending with realistic growth projections, and safeguards water sustainability and rural character. More information about his campaign can be found at https://www.rickygleason.com/.
