An official with the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (ECWRPC) last week encouraged Shawano County to keep public health in mind when making decisions about the future.
Tom Baron, ECWRPC associate planner, spoke to the county’s Planning, Development and Zoning Committee about the importance of making physical activity and other health factors part of county planning.
Baron noted that inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide, less than 30 percent of American high school students engage in more than an hour of activity daily, and medical costs to treat inactive adults in the United States is about $75 billion.
Baron also pointed out that recent health rankings list Shawano County 63rd out of the 72 Wisconsin counties.
“That dropped from 60th. You want to be closer to number one,” Baron said.
Shawano County is one of 30 counties in the state to get a Transform Wisconsin grant to promote healthy places to work and play.
Planning’s connection to health is obvious, Baron said. Whenever codes are created, issues such as disease control, air and water quality, and noise and odors need to be considered, he said.
“We don’t want to go out and tell people they’ve got to do things or they’ve got to live a certain lifestyle, but we want to provide opportunities so people can be active,” Baron said.
Baron asked the committee to consider working with ECWRPC on community action plans to provide future opportunities.
Although the issue was not scheduled for formal action, county supervisors were concerned about the low health ranking.
“What happened in Shawano County that we fell off the ledge almost?” Supervisor Ken Capelle said.
Baron replied that there were a variety of factors that affected the standings, and it was hard to pinpoint just one.
Supervisor Gene Hoppe also wants the public to be better educated. He pointed out that people are mistaking the bike lane on Lake Drive in Wescott for a parking area.
“Some of the roads where there are bike lanes, they’re being abused,” Hoppe said. “Bicyclists are having to swing out into traffic. There’s going to be an accident.”
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