The Douglas County Extension Service will begin a program next month designed to find out what rural residents think about the ever-increasing urbanization of the county.

The extension service will sponsor five “Rural/Urban Issues Forums” to gauge how rural residents feel about a variety of hot-button issues including the 5-acre exemption, green space requirements, flood plain regulations, water rights and city annexation.

Bill Wood, agriculture agent for the extension service, said the agency decided to have the series of programs after having conversations with Douglas County commissioners, who indicated they were interested in finding out what rural residents thought about a variety of subjects.

“A lot of times rural residents are hesitant to speak at a planning meeting or something formal like that,” Wood said. “I think the commissioners felt like most rural people know and trust the extension service, so they wanted us to try to solicit some opinions.”

Wood said extension service staff would give a brief presentation highlighting recent rural-urban issues, and then audience members will be asked to share what they believe are the top rural-urban issues facing the county.

“We’re not going to solve anything or take any sides, but we do want to really know what people’s concerns are,” Wood said.

After the meetings, Wood said the extension service would compile a report to present to county commissioners. He said the extension service would be interested in going into more depth on specific issues.

“If people, for example, want to have a serious discussion about the five-acre exemption, then we can make that happen,” Wood said. “We can bring in some experts and lay out all the options and who it may benefit and who it may hurt.”