What did the Albert Lea Planning Commission approve on Tuesday?

A procrastinated assignment that turned into a rush job. That’s what.

They approved an incomplete comprehensive plan. They didn’t have the latest version. They didn’t have the late-entry appendices. What are all these changes being stuck at the very end of the process, in the second half of December no less?

Albert Lea Economic Development Agency Executive Director Dan Dorman is the main official raising red flags. So is Mayor-elect Mike Murtaugh. The last of Dorman’s concerns, which he reiterated Tuesday, were raised Nov. 10. City Planner Bob Graham had concerns raised in early November, too. Why did the city and consultant wait to address the matters?

The planning commissioners on Tuesday didn’t have a printed and complete comprehensive plan to look at. They were voting on only part of the plan, trusting a metro consultant that doesn’t seem to care much about our hard-working outstate Minnesota city, as noted off the record by many high-ranking officials in this city.

The comp plan steering committee finished in June. The city and the consultant didn’t get around to posting the comp plan on the Internet until October, when the community was paying attention to elective campaigns. What was the delay between June and October?

We understand the urge for the City Council officials who were part of the comp plan revision to be the ones who vote on it, but even at the state Legislature, when the session is winding down, lawmakers get to have a printed copy of what they are voting on.

How can we vote on promises?

Further, it’s not about whether the comp plan is a living document or not. It’s about knowing the facts before taking a vote.

Not only did the Planning Commission deserve a completed document, so do the citizens. And so does the Albert Lea City Council, which votes on it Monday. We urge the council members to kick the plan back to the Planning Commission for further and more thorough review.

Mayor Randy Erdman has said the comp plan process has been discussed at service clubs, in local media and other areas of the community. The revision process was featured, yes, but the document has not been.

This final draft needs to be pulled together, clean and viewable, and not just online. It needs to be printed, distributed and seen by citizens and elected officials.