The Blair County Planning Commission has revived discussion about how the commission, going forward, should be structured.

However, what conclusions are reached in the weeks or months ahead need to be built on a foundation of input from all of the county’s municipal governments, not just some or a majority of them.

General talks about a possible change in the commission’s current makeup are only now being re-energized after having been dormant for most of the past four years, no doubt at least in part due to the pandemic.

But if the commission indeed is serious about weighing new options, those already on the discussion table are a good place to start, recognizing that new possibilities could come forward at any time, especially based on comments from the various county municipalities.

No doubt, virtually all Blair municipalities have been impacted in some way by decisions that the county agency has made over its six decades of existence.

During those six decades, it has been dealt criticism as well as plaudits, but overall, the commission has been a valuable resource in helping transform this county to the vibrant entity that it can now boast about being.

Planning done right is orderly, and the Blair agency can be proud about its orderly conduct of study and proposed-project reviews, followed by the decisions it has handed down.

Looking ahead into the near future, members of the county planning commission will be weighing two scenarios introduced at a commission meeting Feb. 29 by county Planning Director David McFarland, both of which would have commission members appointed on a regional basis rather than on a municipal basis.

As a March 2-3 Mirror article reported, the first proposal envisions a commission consisting of seven regional representatives, a “core” representative and a countywide representative, while the second idea is built around seven proposed regional representatives, two representatives from a region made up by Altoona and Logan Township, plus a countywide representative.

Currently, the nine-member commission comprises three members representing Altoona, three representing the county’s boroughs and three representing the county’s townships.

Beyond deciding whether putting a regional concept in place would serve the county best in the years ahead, rather than the current planning agency makeup, the commission is interested in trying to attract involvement by at least several younger individuals to offer new ideas as well as help continue the work of the veteran commission members who eventually will be leaving the board.

Maintaining continuity is as important in planning as it is in most other endeavors. Regardless of what positive direction Blair County planning pursues in the years ahead, people of Blair always should be appreciative of the early planners who put in place the groundwork for this county’s vibrancy of the 2020s.

Like with so many other places, many area residents of the 1950s and 1960s — and even into the 1970s — were suspicious and uneasy about planners’ intentions.

“We can’t be for them; they’re for progress” was the viewpoint of a woman at a taxpayers’ group meeting at Altoona City Hall, on whatever the issue that was being discussed. Fortunately, this county’s community as a whole did not follow her lead.

Good planning always must remain near the top of Blair County’s list of priorities — for the benefit of all of its municipalities.