I just went to the nicest, homiest, warmest event. It was the Election Debate hosted by Mary Whitehead at the VFW. Mary was a fantastic Mistress of Ceremonies. She really knew what the deal was in Page County, and seemed to have everybody’s “number.” Mary invited all the candidates running for office, and the VFW hall was filled to overflowing with citizens. Every candidate got to say their piece and give their platform. Mary was very strict about not having any negative campaigning or crucifying anybody, either on the stage or from audience questions.
You know what? It was really nice. It was heartwarming to hear each person talk about why they wanted to run for office and what they wanted to do. It was amazing to me how many people came, since I knew it wasn’t publicized much. In addition to the candidates, Mary also had Todd Gilbert there, and a representative of Mark Obershain.
All the candidates were there except District 2 Supervisor John Rust, and District 4 Supervisor Gerald Cubbage and his Democratic challenger Raymond Kite. Other than that, everybody else running was there. They gave such GREAT speeches. I’m not kidding, they were really, really good speeches, from everybody.
What was so good about them was that these were real people, with real heartfelt desires to serve the people. It didn’t matter whether they were polished public speakers or just speaking from the heart. You could tell they were people who cared. All of them.
In fact, when you listened to them, you started to think, Gee. It wouldn’t really matter which of these candidates got the most votes.
They were all winners.
I hope everybody in Page County gets to meet the people who have put themselves on the line to run for office. Mary will be running another one of these debates in the Fall. In August, Page County Watch will be setting up a special Elections Section of the website, where every candidate will have their own pages, and citizens can submit Questions for the Candidates.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Dear Ms. Getz
Dear Ms. Getz, and Like-Minded citizens of Page, This is a response to your Letter to the Editor in the Page News on June 28, 2007
Page County Watch is not the "local activist group" that got the Page County Supervisors to buy back the landfill, costing the taxpayers a debt of $13M and counting. We weren't involved or active in that issue. Indeed, we did not exist at the time.
Page County Watch did not criticize or attack the previous Boards of Supervisors. We did not exist until April of 2007. We only formed as a result of the December 19, 2006, meeting of the Board, in which our houses were threatened over the flood plain issue. Before that time, many of us either didn't live here, or weren't paying any attention to elections or politics.
We are not a "local activist group". We are just homeowners who went into shock when we found out the local Board of Supervisors had the power to take away our property rights. And no one was watching what they were doing, or paying any attention to them.
You're right that the people who are elected to the Board believe they are civic minded citizens doing what is the right thing for the county. They don't have an evil intent. But they are people spending a few hours a month, in addition to their day jobs, who are making decisions that will impact the taxpayers of the county for 25 years or more. They can't do that job well in a vacuum. They shouldn't be sitting in that boardroom alone, with no citizen input, no citizen feedback, no citizen pushback, no citizen guidance. But they are. Because Page County citizens just elected them and walked away.
Like you, I never attended or paid any attention to the county government until it tried to harm me. Right now, looking at the budget that grew in one year higher than the property tax rise, the debt that will require another property tax rise next year and the following year and the following year, etc, this Board is harming YOU. The property tax rise does not pay for the schools. The money is not being managed in a way that will allow citizens to live here peacefully, business is not moving here, and the Board is about to pass a Comprehensive Plan that will guide zoning toward lot sizes that will not allow the children who grew up here to buy houses, get jobs, and live in their own homes.
These are big problems, big issues, and dramatic impacts on the citizens of Page, that can't be resolved by a couple of well intentioned but not "up to the task" elected citizens, who run from citizen input and "retreat" when they are challenged. Ms. Getz, it is YOU and people you know who need to help them figure out what you want. Do you want them to rezone your neighborhood, changing the value of your home and possibly forcing your family and relatives to sell and move away? Do you want your property taxes to rise again next year and the year after and the year after that? Do you want your friends and family to have to car pool down route 66 to get jobs? If you do, then keep doing what you're doing, and ignore this Board and these upcoming elections, because that's what you are about to get, if all goes according to the Comprehensive Plan which they created WITHOUT broad citizen input.
If you don't want those things, then show up at these Board meetings, find out what these plans are, and get involved. That won't make you an "activist" any more than it makes me one.
Alice Richmond
Page County Watch is not the "local activist group" that got the Page County Supervisors to buy back the landfill, costing the taxpayers a debt of $13M and counting. We weren't involved or active in that issue. Indeed, we did not exist at the time.
Page County Watch did not criticize or attack the previous Boards of Supervisors. We did not exist until April of 2007. We only formed as a result of the December 19, 2006, meeting of the Board, in which our houses were threatened over the flood plain issue. Before that time, many of us either didn't live here, or weren't paying any attention to elections or politics.
We are not a "local activist group". We are just homeowners who went into shock when we found out the local Board of Supervisors had the power to take away our property rights. And no one was watching what they were doing, or paying any attention to them.
You're right that the people who are elected to the Board believe they are civic minded citizens doing what is the right thing for the county. They don't have an evil intent. But they are people spending a few hours a month, in addition to their day jobs, who are making decisions that will impact the taxpayers of the county for 25 years or more. They can't do that job well in a vacuum. They shouldn't be sitting in that boardroom alone, with no citizen input, no citizen feedback, no citizen pushback, no citizen guidance. But they are. Because Page County citizens just elected them and walked away.
Like you, I never attended or paid any attention to the county government until it tried to harm me. Right now, looking at the budget that grew in one year higher than the property tax rise, the debt that will require another property tax rise next year and the following year and the following year, etc, this Board is harming YOU. The property tax rise does not pay for the schools. The money is not being managed in a way that will allow citizens to live here peacefully, business is not moving here, and the Board is about to pass a Comprehensive Plan that will guide zoning toward lot sizes that will not allow the children who grew up here to buy houses, get jobs, and live in their own homes.
These are big problems, big issues, and dramatic impacts on the citizens of Page, that can't be resolved by a couple of well intentioned but not "up to the task" elected citizens, who run from citizen input and "retreat" when they are challenged. Ms. Getz, it is YOU and people you know who need to help them figure out what you want. Do you want them to rezone your neighborhood, changing the value of your home and possibly forcing your family and relatives to sell and move away? Do you want your property taxes to rise again next year and the year after and the year after that? Do you want your friends and family to have to car pool down route 66 to get jobs? If you do, then keep doing what you're doing, and ignore this Board and these upcoming elections, because that's what you are about to get, if all goes according to the Comprehensive Plan which they created WITHOUT broad citizen input.
If you don't want those things, then show up at these Board meetings, find out what these plans are, and get involved. That won't make you an "activist" any more than it makes me one.
Alice Richmond
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Incomprehensible Plan
Guest Blog by Steve Whisler
PCW has posted the editable versions of the revised amended Comprehensive Plan, Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan (intended for inclusion in the Comp Plan) and Virginia Code 15.2-2223 under Comprehensive Plan on the main site at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org The DVD of the Comprehensive Plan portion of the Supervisors Retreat will be made available as soon as possible, most likely in time for the individual District Supervisor meetings to be held.
The Incomprehensible Plan
The Board of Supervisors has now returned from its retreat after deliberating for an entire hour on a 100 page document, a revised amended comprehensive plan. I have read the document as well as the Virginia code that requires county governments to have a comprehensive plan. The Virginia code states that a comprehensive plan is to address the physical development of the territory, in this case Page County. It is essentially described as a mapping/planning exercise intended to identify and document current land use and infrastructure and what it will need to be to accommodate projected changes in land use requirements.
The revision to the amended comprehensive plan under consideration by the Board is quite a different bird. It is a hash of goals and objectives only a few of which have anything to do with planning the physical development of the county. For some unexplained reason, even after significant editing, there remain academic discourses on unrelated topics such as Karst topography, acid rain, air pollution, etc, as well as policy implication statements, statements to encourage or discourage this, promote that, to prohibit or regulate the other, most of which have nothing to do with planning land use
(i.e., educating kids about robotics and aerospace technology; educating citizens about environment and water quality; promoting tourism; obtaining funding, etc. It goes on and on.). Buried within the document are the elements of what a comprehensive plan is suppose to be according to Virginia code. However, even those elements fall short of completeness.
Virginia code also calls for performing careful and comprehensive surveys and studies of existing conditions and trends of growth, and of the probable future requirements of the county and inhabitants in the context of land use. There is no evidence those types of things were ever done. Interestingly, there are elements of the plan that call for performing surveys and studies that should have been done prior to the development of a comprehensive plan. Even stranger is the fact that in the little snippet called “Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan” under the heading Land Use, what is suppose to be a land use plan calls for the creation of a land use plan. What?
Further, a comprehensive plan under Virginia code is mandated to include “A zoning ordinance and zoning district maps.” Why is the comprehensive plan subcommittee just now beginning work on that issue? What exactly would the Board of Supervisors be approving under the amended plan? It would seem that the comprehensive plan committee may have a little malfeasance problem as well. After three years or so of fumbling around they have produced absolutely nothing of value for the Board of Supervisors to adopt.
To be sure, many of the elements that are irrelevant for inclusion in a comprehensive plan as contemplated by Virginia code should be considered in developing it. However, they should be addressed somewhere else, possibly as part of a broad county strategic plan. It is a mystery how what was supposed to be a comprehensive plan was corrupted into what it has become. It may well be that somewhere, way back when, there was a recognition there was a need to have a broad strategic vision for the county and it seemed like a good idea at the time to roll it into this thing called a comprehensive plan. Egad, now we have a precedent!
What really concerns me is the Board of Supervisors is in the mood to adopt a comprehensive plan regardless of how fouled up it is. Changing a word here and shifting a sentence there really does not answer the mail. I would be willing to wager if the title “Comprehensive Plan” was to be placed on a comic book, as is the case here, they would approve it. Over recent months, the Board has shown little overt interest in what the citizens of the county have to say. If they do come to their senses regarding the comprehensive plan, they will realize that attempting to put lipstick on a pig will not make it anything other than a pig.
Steve Whisler
Note: The Board will review their “changes” to the Comprehensive Plan in the work session of July 3. At the Retreat, they said they would then take this plan to the citizens in individual district meetings, Supervisor to Citizen.
PCW has posted the editable versions of the revised amended Comprehensive Plan, Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan (intended for inclusion in the Comp Plan) and Virginia Code 15.2-2223 under Comprehensive Plan on the main site at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org The DVD of the Comprehensive Plan portion of the Supervisors Retreat will be made available as soon as possible, most likely in time for the individual District Supervisor meetings to be held.
The Incomprehensible Plan
The Board of Supervisors has now returned from its retreat after deliberating for an entire hour on a 100 page document, a revised amended comprehensive plan. I have read the document as well as the Virginia code that requires county governments to have a comprehensive plan. The Virginia code states that a comprehensive plan is to address the physical development of the territory, in this case Page County. It is essentially described as a mapping/planning exercise intended to identify and document current land use and infrastructure and what it will need to be to accommodate projected changes in land use requirements.
The revision to the amended comprehensive plan under consideration by the Board is quite a different bird. It is a hash of goals and objectives only a few of which have anything to do with planning the physical development of the county. For some unexplained reason, even after significant editing, there remain academic discourses on unrelated topics such as Karst topography, acid rain, air pollution, etc, as well as policy implication statements, statements to encourage or discourage this, promote that, to prohibit or regulate the other, most of which have nothing to do with planning land use
(i.e., educating kids about robotics and aerospace technology; educating citizens about environment and water quality; promoting tourism; obtaining funding, etc. It goes on and on.). Buried within the document are the elements of what a comprehensive plan is suppose to be according to Virginia code. However, even those elements fall short of completeness.
Virginia code also calls for performing careful and comprehensive surveys and studies of existing conditions and trends of growth, and of the probable future requirements of the county and inhabitants in the context of land use. There is no evidence those types of things were ever done. Interestingly, there are elements of the plan that call for performing surveys and studies that should have been done prior to the development of a comprehensive plan. Even stranger is the fact that in the little snippet called “Comp Plan 5-8 rough scan” under the heading Land Use, what is suppose to be a land use plan calls for the creation of a land use plan. What?
Further, a comprehensive plan under Virginia code is mandated to include “A zoning ordinance and zoning district maps.” Why is the comprehensive plan subcommittee just now beginning work on that issue? What exactly would the Board of Supervisors be approving under the amended plan? It would seem that the comprehensive plan committee may have a little malfeasance problem as well. After three years or so of fumbling around they have produced absolutely nothing of value for the Board of Supervisors to adopt.
To be sure, many of the elements that are irrelevant for inclusion in a comprehensive plan as contemplated by Virginia code should be considered in developing it. However, they should be addressed somewhere else, possibly as part of a broad county strategic plan. It is a mystery how what was supposed to be a comprehensive plan was corrupted into what it has become. It may well be that somewhere, way back when, there was a recognition there was a need to have a broad strategic vision for the county and it seemed like a good idea at the time to roll it into this thing called a comprehensive plan. Egad, now we have a precedent!
What really concerns me is the Board of Supervisors is in the mood to adopt a comprehensive plan regardless of how fouled up it is. Changing a word here and shifting a sentence there really does not answer the mail. I would be willing to wager if the title “Comprehensive Plan” was to be placed on a comic book, as is the case here, they would approve it. Over recent months, the Board has shown little overt interest in what the citizens of the county have to say. If they do come to their senses regarding the comprehensive plan, they will realize that attempting to put lipstick on a pig will not make it anything other than a pig.
Steve Whisler
Note: The Board will review their “changes” to the Comprehensive Plan in the work session of July 3. At the Retreat, they said they would then take this plan to the citizens in individual district meetings, Supervisor to Citizen.
Adopting the Budget
Events of the June 19 meeting of the Board of Supervisors
This meeting went on for 3 1/2 hours, but nothing happened.
The tenor has changed from a game of Rope-A-Dope to a game of Trivia.
The Performing Arts Center was granted a waiver of their property taxes because they are 501c3.
The budget was passed.
Citizen comments were heard but ignored, unless it was to respond defensively to any perceived criticism.
Natalie made a plea to be careful if they are changing the Comprehensive Plan because they could be Revising it if they do that, and this was only an Update not a Revision. (See the Comprehensive Plan section on the main website)
John Mayeaux made a request that they consider doing something about all the people who don't have affordable housing. (This was ignored.)
McWhorter commented on everything, ending with praise for what a good job the Board was doing.
Rogerson, Lansberry, and Richmond talked about the budget and the lack of information presented about it. We all pointed out that there was information that the citizens do not have about the debt, the budget and the tax raise.
At the end, Carol Lee Strickler pulled out some old newspapers from 1985 and gave a little prepared speech. Rather than address citizen comments that the budget had not been presented with understandable line items that would actually inform the public, she said there was so much "misinformation" being spread. Terrible misinformation in Letters to the Editor and other places. For example, we said "nobody ever died in a Page County flood". So she held up some old yellow newspapers from 1985 that said three people died in Elkton and McGaheysville (which are not in Page County). And said it was a shame there were people who were putting so much effort into spreading misinformation instead of behaving properly like the good people who work on these committees. LaFrance echoed her sentiment. They also said if anybody wanted to understand the budget, they could have come to all the meetings in January, February, and March when the departments made their budget requests. (The issue citizens were trying to talk about was the debt and the construction financing, but that was ignored.)
Alice
This meeting went on for 3 1/2 hours, but nothing happened.
The tenor has changed from a game of Rope-A-Dope to a game of Trivia.
The Performing Arts Center was granted a waiver of their property taxes because they are 501c3.
The budget was passed.
Citizen comments were heard but ignored, unless it was to respond defensively to any perceived criticism.
Natalie made a plea to be careful if they are changing the Comprehensive Plan because they could be Revising it if they do that, and this was only an Update not a Revision. (See the Comprehensive Plan section on the main website)
John Mayeaux made a request that they consider doing something about all the people who don't have affordable housing. (This was ignored.)
McWhorter commented on everything, ending with praise for what a good job the Board was doing.
Rogerson, Lansberry, and Richmond talked about the budget and the lack of information presented about it. We all pointed out that there was information that the citizens do not have about the debt, the budget and the tax raise.
At the end, Carol Lee Strickler pulled out some old newspapers from 1985 and gave a little prepared speech. Rather than address citizen comments that the budget had not been presented with understandable line items that would actually inform the public, she said there was so much "misinformation" being spread. Terrible misinformation in Letters to the Editor and other places. For example, we said "nobody ever died in a Page County flood". So she held up some old yellow newspapers from 1985 that said three people died in Elkton and McGaheysville (which are not in Page County). And said it was a shame there were people who were putting so much effort into spreading misinformation instead of behaving properly like the good people who work on these committees. LaFrance echoed her sentiment. They also said if anybody wanted to understand the budget, they could have come to all the meetings in January, February, and March when the departments made their budget requests. (The issue citizens were trying to talk about was the debt and the construction financing, but that was ignored.)
Alice
Monday, June 18, 2007
Ding Dong
Ding, Dong
At the Planning Commission Work Session of June 18, 2007, the following happened:
1. They reviewed the change to the rules for Internet businesses.
2. They discussed setting a date for the Comprehensive Plan subcommittee to work on the Land Use maps in preparation for the Zoning Ordinance rewrite.
3. They discussed changing the date for the work sessions from the third week of the month to the second week of the month.
4. Chairman Woodward abolished the Zoning Ordinance subcommittee for malfeasance.And YOU weren’t there! You have GOT to go to these meetings. They are way, way better than Reality TV.
Here’s the Blow by Blow:
As the meeting was ending, Chairman Woodward held up the Page News article written by Jamie Turner (wonderful article, Jamie) about the Donato vote rescinsion and the Newton motion to put the flood plain ordinance back into the zoning subcommittee. (You remember that one, when I was about ready to throw in the towel because I couldn’t stand this continued version of Rope-A-Dope) He said that was uncalled for and it constituted an act of malfeasance. He said as Chairman, he was able to abolish that subcommittee and he hereby did it, and he banged his gavel. So as of 7:45 or so on Monday, June 18, 2007, the Zoning Ordinance Subcommittee of the Planning Commission, no longer exists. On Monday, June 25, 2007, he will appoint new members.
This is so good.
Mr. Eldridge protested, and Mr. Shanks seemed to back him up, so don’t think the drama is fully over yet. In fact, chances are good this might happen all over again next Monday night, June 25, at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission. So it’s not too late for you to catch the second act!
Put it on your calendar! Dinner and a show in town, Monday, June 25, at 7 p.m. at the Courthouse. Be there! Why is this so important? Well, Flood Plain dwellers, these are the people who tried to get you. And were still trying at last month’s meeting. Don’t stop going to the meetings until this stops. This could be the act that finally stops it. But the Good Guys need you to show up so they know how much it matters.
I can’t be there next Monday night, because I have a business trip. I hope a whole bunch of other people will go, and email me what happened so I can post it here next week.
Alice
At the Planning Commission Work Session of June 18, 2007, the following happened:
1. They reviewed the change to the rules for Internet businesses.
2. They discussed setting a date for the Comprehensive Plan subcommittee to work on the Land Use maps in preparation for the Zoning Ordinance rewrite.
3. They discussed changing the date for the work sessions from the third week of the month to the second week of the month.
4. Chairman Woodward abolished the Zoning Ordinance subcommittee for malfeasance.And YOU weren’t there! You have GOT to go to these meetings. They are way, way better than Reality TV.
Here’s the Blow by Blow:
As the meeting was ending, Chairman Woodward held up the Page News article written by Jamie Turner (wonderful article, Jamie) about the Donato vote rescinsion and the Newton motion to put the flood plain ordinance back into the zoning subcommittee. (You remember that one, when I was about ready to throw in the towel because I couldn’t stand this continued version of Rope-A-Dope) He said that was uncalled for and it constituted an act of malfeasance. He said as Chairman, he was able to abolish that subcommittee and he hereby did it, and he banged his gavel. So as of 7:45 or so on Monday, June 18, 2007, the Zoning Ordinance Subcommittee of the Planning Commission, no longer exists. On Monday, June 25, 2007, he will appoint new members.
This is so good.
Mr. Eldridge protested, and Mr. Shanks seemed to back him up, so don’t think the drama is fully over yet. In fact, chances are good this might happen all over again next Monday night, June 25, at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission. So it’s not too late for you to catch the second act!
Put it on your calendar! Dinner and a show in town, Monday, June 25, at 7 p.m. at the Courthouse. Be there! Why is this so important? Well, Flood Plain dwellers, these are the people who tried to get you. And were still trying at last month’s meeting. Don’t stop going to the meetings until this stops. This could be the act that finally stops it. But the Good Guys need you to show up so they know how much it matters.
I can’t be there next Monday night, because I have a business trip. I hope a whole bunch of other people will go, and email me what happened so I can post it here next week.
Alice
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Follow the Smell
Follow the Smell
Something stinks with the Page County Board of Supervisors, and it isn’t the Landfill. First, they brought us the Flood Plain Ordinance. Then, they reassessed our houses above what the market will pay. Then, they raised taxes to the point that they are forcing some of our citizens to sell. Now, they are about to approve a budget of $99M. Last year, it was half that. The difference, we were told, was to pay down the debt for the schools. Makes sense. Borrow $46M for schools, pay $36M off this year, and then next year borrow a little more, pay off the schools in two years. Solid, cash based financial management.
But now the story is changing. Now the $36M is just debt service. It’s not paying down the debt. At the Supervisors LaLaLand Retreat last week, suddenly that money wasn’t paying off anything. Chairman LaFrance expressed his dismay that citizens attended the meeting, and clearly cautioned the few people in the audience not to touch the juice and pastries set up for the Supervisors. That’s going to play really nice on YouTube, Tommy. You see, Page County Watch brought videocameras. We have the one hour on tape, showing the arrogant disregard for the more than 70 citizens who protested the sentence in the Comprehensive Plan that says: “Develop ordinances that prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain”. At that May 15 meeting, according to the audiotape, Chairman LaFrance says, “This Board is up to the task” of reviewing and fixing the problems with the Comprehensive Plan. But after “retreating” to take up the task, the Board only needed one hour to do it! Their solution: change the word “prohibit” to “regulate”. That’ll do it, our Supervisors concluded.
Later, after the cameras were turned off, Chairman LaFrance insisted to citizens that the Flood Plain Ordinance was dead, a dead issue, no longer being considered. Yet, citizens who have asked Supervisor Hoke say he doesn’t think so. Citizens who have asked Supervisor Strickler say she doesn’t think so. We know for a fact that the Gang of Five on the Planning Commission doesn’t think so, as they keep trying to breathe life into it. And here this sentence stays, sitting there in the Comprehensive Plan, now saying: “Develop ordinances that REGULATE buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain.” Never mind that we already have a perfectly good ordinance that meets state and federal requirements at this time. Our Supervisors want to do MORE. Why? That is the answer we cannot get. Except, of course, it must be because of the Karst topography, tongue-in-cheek. (For those of you who didn’t get that joke, you have GOT to attend these Planning Commission meetings. They are so much funnier than Reality TV.)
Now here’s the deal. There is something fishy about that budget. Citizens can’t read it, the way it’s being presented. But, among all our citizens out here, we’ll find somebody who can. We’ll present it in more understandable ways. Our Page County citizens are being harmed by the very people who were elected to represent THEM. The arrogant members of the Board of Supervisors are not representing the people of this county.
We will be posting the details of that budget on the main site, at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org soon.
Alice Richmond
Something stinks with the Page County Board of Supervisors, and it isn’t the Landfill. First, they brought us the Flood Plain Ordinance. Then, they reassessed our houses above what the market will pay. Then, they raised taxes to the point that they are forcing some of our citizens to sell. Now, they are about to approve a budget of $99M. Last year, it was half that. The difference, we were told, was to pay down the debt for the schools. Makes sense. Borrow $46M for schools, pay $36M off this year, and then next year borrow a little more, pay off the schools in two years. Solid, cash based financial management.
But now the story is changing. Now the $36M is just debt service. It’s not paying down the debt. At the Supervisors LaLaLand Retreat last week, suddenly that money wasn’t paying off anything. Chairman LaFrance expressed his dismay that citizens attended the meeting, and clearly cautioned the few people in the audience not to touch the juice and pastries set up for the Supervisors. That’s going to play really nice on YouTube, Tommy. You see, Page County Watch brought videocameras. We have the one hour on tape, showing the arrogant disregard for the more than 70 citizens who protested the sentence in the Comprehensive Plan that says: “Develop ordinances that prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain”. At that May 15 meeting, according to the audiotape, Chairman LaFrance says, “This Board is up to the task” of reviewing and fixing the problems with the Comprehensive Plan. But after “retreating” to take up the task, the Board only needed one hour to do it! Their solution: change the word “prohibit” to “regulate”. That’ll do it, our Supervisors concluded.
Later, after the cameras were turned off, Chairman LaFrance insisted to citizens that the Flood Plain Ordinance was dead, a dead issue, no longer being considered. Yet, citizens who have asked Supervisor Hoke say he doesn’t think so. Citizens who have asked Supervisor Strickler say she doesn’t think so. We know for a fact that the Gang of Five on the Planning Commission doesn’t think so, as they keep trying to breathe life into it. And here this sentence stays, sitting there in the Comprehensive Plan, now saying: “Develop ordinances that REGULATE buildings and businesses in the 100-year flood plain.” Never mind that we already have a perfectly good ordinance that meets state and federal requirements at this time. Our Supervisors want to do MORE. Why? That is the answer we cannot get. Except, of course, it must be because of the Karst topography, tongue-in-cheek. (For those of you who didn’t get that joke, you have GOT to attend these Planning Commission meetings. They are so much funnier than Reality TV.)
Now here’s the deal. There is something fishy about that budget. Citizens can’t read it, the way it’s being presented. But, among all our citizens out here, we’ll find somebody who can. We’ll present it in more understandable ways. Our Page County citizens are being harmed by the very people who were elected to represent THEM. The arrogant members of the Board of Supervisors are not representing the people of this county.
We will be posting the details of that budget on the main site, at http://www.PageCountyWatch.org soon.
Alice Richmond
Friday, June 15, 2007
The Supervisors Retreat
The Supervisors Retreat June 14, 2007
Background: At the May 15 Supervisors meeting, a motion was made for the Supervisors to go on a Retreat so that they could discuss the Comprehensive Plan in detail, and make any necessary changes. At that time, the Board had before it a motion from the Planning Commission to end debate on the flood plain ordinance until there were specific maps from FEMA. With 70 + people in the audience at Stanley Elementary School, and many citizen objections to the Comprehensive Plan, particularly the line that said “prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100 year floodplain”, the Board decided to postpone action on that motion until after dealing with the Comprehensive Plan. The Retreat was scheduled for June 14 at Skyland.
Attendees: In attendance were the five supervisors, plus Dr. Tom Cardman (Economic Development), Mr. Mark Belton (County Administrator), Ms. Regina Miller (Executive Assistant to the Board), Mr. Kevin Henry (County Planner).
Members of the audience were Mike Trader, Jean Trader, Jim Turner, Carl Turner, Alice Richmond, Steve Hunsicker, Natalie Zuckerman, and Jamie Turner (Page News and Courier). The audience (Page County Watch) brought two professional level videocameras and set them up in the room, in consideration of the many people who wanted to attend but were unable to because of the date and time of the meeting.
The Room: The Mountain Room at Skyland held a conference table, and a side table filled with coffeee, juices, and breakfast pastries. There was plenty of seating available for the public.
The Agenda: The agenda allowed 1 ½ hours for discussion of the Comprehensive Plan, followed by a break, followed by an hour for discussion of the school construction, followed by lunch, followed by a discussion of the county office building. The meeting was scheduled to be over by 2 p.m.
What actually happened: Mr. LaFrance opened the meeting. He expressed his dismay that the public and the press chose to come, and to bring videocameras. He said that the Supervisors are not allowed by law to talk among themselves about county business, and so when they set up a Retreat, it is with the hope that this will give them an opportunity to really hammer things out with some privacy. However, he said, this was a public meeting and if that is what we chose to do, then we had the right to do it. He noted that the juice, coffee, and pastries were for the Supervisors only, not the public.
The discussion about the Comprehensive Plan began. Each Supervisor had with them a copy of the changes that were made to the Plan, showing the markups. However, the discussion was subdued. Mr. LaFrance said he thought the objections of the citizens could be addressed if Mr. Henry would take his electronic copy of the plan and do a “find and replace” of the word PROHIBIT, replaced with the word REGULATE. He said that the word Prohibit was profusely scattered throughout the plan, and that as a result, it appeared to give the Planning Commission guidance to write ordinances that were restrictive to a fault, aka the flood plain ordinance. He said that changing that word would seem to essentially address the citizen objections. For example, instead of saying “Prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100 year flood plain”, the plan would now say “Regulate buildings and businesses in the 100 year flood plain” There was general agreement that this would be a good thing. The Supervisors were then asked to give any other changes to the specifics of the plan that they would like to see to Mr. Henry by June 28. He would then print out the corrected pages of the Plan, and they would review them in the work session on July 3. Mr. Belton pointed out that they would not need another public hearing, because the public hearing was held on May 15. However, Mr. LaFrance thought it would be a good thing to hold informational meetings about the Plan, district by district. That is, each Supervisor in their district would set up a citizens meeting, for their district residents only, to openly talk about the plan Supervisor to citizens.
Mr. Rust (Supervisor District 2) said he was eager to get this plan approved so that they could get on with the business of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. He said they had spoken to someone at Virginia Tech (I may have that wrong, it may have been a state agency) and they had a project whereby for no or minimal cost they would come out and speak to the citizens in groups about the reasons and the needs for zoning ordinance changes. He thought this would be a good thing, to help the citizens understand why certain things had to be done.
Mr. Cubbage, Ms. Strickler, and Mr. Hoke made a few comments each, but none that I wrote down in my notes.
They then decided that the plan to move forward would be for Mr. Henry to make the Prohibit to Regulate change, and for each Supervisor to give Mr. Henry any other changes they would like to make privately, and the changes to be reviewed in the July 3 worksession.
After one hour, the meeting about the Comprehensive Plan was over.
Then they took a half hour break. Then they talked about the school construction bids. Then they talked about the county office building. At 11: 45 a.m. the meeting was over and they went to lunch. Before breaking for lunch, Mr. LaFrance addressed the audience regarding the flood plain ordinance. He said, while the cameras were still rolling, “The draft flood plain ordinance died when the planning commission failed to act on it after 90 days, and the Board of Supervisors has no action before it to respond to anything or do anything regarding the flood plain ordinance.”
After the meeting, after the cameras were turned off, we, in a group, asked Mr. LaFrance to further explain his statement about the flood plain ordinance. We asked, “what about the motion that was before you, and what about the statement by Mr. Hoke that you were postponing action on that motion until after the Comprehensive Plan was dealt with”. Mr. LaFrance said they didn’t act on that motion so that it would die, and it was dead.
We asked him if we could now tell all the real estate agents and everyone that absolutely, it was dead, and he said yes, it is dead. He said if the Planning Commission were to rewrite a new one, it would be starting over, and it would have to go through the entire process all over again, but the Board has not asked them to write a new one or to rethink any old ones. It is dead.
And that’s what happened at the Supervisor’s Retreat. If you would like to Blog about this, push the Comments button.
Background: At the May 15 Supervisors meeting, a motion was made for the Supervisors to go on a Retreat so that they could discuss the Comprehensive Plan in detail, and make any necessary changes. At that time, the Board had before it a motion from the Planning Commission to end debate on the flood plain ordinance until there were specific maps from FEMA. With 70 + people in the audience at Stanley Elementary School, and many citizen objections to the Comprehensive Plan, particularly the line that said “prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100 year floodplain”, the Board decided to postpone action on that motion until after dealing with the Comprehensive Plan. The Retreat was scheduled for June 14 at Skyland.
Attendees: In attendance were the five supervisors, plus Dr. Tom Cardman (Economic Development), Mr. Mark Belton (County Administrator), Ms. Regina Miller (Executive Assistant to the Board), Mr. Kevin Henry (County Planner).
Members of the audience were Mike Trader, Jean Trader, Jim Turner, Carl Turner, Alice Richmond, Steve Hunsicker, Natalie Zuckerman, and Jamie Turner (Page News and Courier). The audience (Page County Watch) brought two professional level videocameras and set them up in the room, in consideration of the many people who wanted to attend but were unable to because of the date and time of the meeting.
The Room: The Mountain Room at Skyland held a conference table, and a side table filled with coffeee, juices, and breakfast pastries. There was plenty of seating available for the public.
The Agenda: The agenda allowed 1 ½ hours for discussion of the Comprehensive Plan, followed by a break, followed by an hour for discussion of the school construction, followed by lunch, followed by a discussion of the county office building. The meeting was scheduled to be over by 2 p.m.
What actually happened: Mr. LaFrance opened the meeting. He expressed his dismay that the public and the press chose to come, and to bring videocameras. He said that the Supervisors are not allowed by law to talk among themselves about county business, and so when they set up a Retreat, it is with the hope that this will give them an opportunity to really hammer things out with some privacy. However, he said, this was a public meeting and if that is what we chose to do, then we had the right to do it. He noted that the juice, coffee, and pastries were for the Supervisors only, not the public.
The discussion about the Comprehensive Plan began. Each Supervisor had with them a copy of the changes that were made to the Plan, showing the markups. However, the discussion was subdued. Mr. LaFrance said he thought the objections of the citizens could be addressed if Mr. Henry would take his electronic copy of the plan and do a “find and replace” of the word PROHIBIT, replaced with the word REGULATE. He said that the word Prohibit was profusely scattered throughout the plan, and that as a result, it appeared to give the Planning Commission guidance to write ordinances that were restrictive to a fault, aka the flood plain ordinance. He said that changing that word would seem to essentially address the citizen objections. For example, instead of saying “Prohibit buildings and businesses in the 100 year flood plain”, the plan would now say “Regulate buildings and businesses in the 100 year flood plain” There was general agreement that this would be a good thing. The Supervisors were then asked to give any other changes to the specifics of the plan that they would like to see to Mr. Henry by June 28. He would then print out the corrected pages of the Plan, and they would review them in the work session on July 3. Mr. Belton pointed out that they would not need another public hearing, because the public hearing was held on May 15. However, Mr. LaFrance thought it would be a good thing to hold informational meetings about the Plan, district by district. That is, each Supervisor in their district would set up a citizens meeting, for their district residents only, to openly talk about the plan Supervisor to citizens.
Mr. Rust (Supervisor District 2) said he was eager to get this plan approved so that they could get on with the business of the Zoning Ordinance rewrite. He said they had spoken to someone at Virginia Tech (I may have that wrong, it may have been a state agency) and they had a project whereby for no or minimal cost they would come out and speak to the citizens in groups about the reasons and the needs for zoning ordinance changes. He thought this would be a good thing, to help the citizens understand why certain things had to be done.
Mr. Cubbage, Ms. Strickler, and Mr. Hoke made a few comments each, but none that I wrote down in my notes.
They then decided that the plan to move forward would be for Mr. Henry to make the Prohibit to Regulate change, and for each Supervisor to give Mr. Henry any other changes they would like to make privately, and the changes to be reviewed in the July 3 worksession.
After one hour, the meeting about the Comprehensive Plan was over.
Then they took a half hour break. Then they talked about the school construction bids. Then they talked about the county office building. At 11: 45 a.m. the meeting was over and they went to lunch. Before breaking for lunch, Mr. LaFrance addressed the audience regarding the flood plain ordinance. He said, while the cameras were still rolling, “The draft flood plain ordinance died when the planning commission failed to act on it after 90 days, and the Board of Supervisors has no action before it to respond to anything or do anything regarding the flood plain ordinance.”
After the meeting, after the cameras were turned off, we, in a group, asked Mr. LaFrance to further explain his statement about the flood plain ordinance. We asked, “what about the motion that was before you, and what about the statement by Mr. Hoke that you were postponing action on that motion until after the Comprehensive Plan was dealt with”. Mr. LaFrance said they didn’t act on that motion so that it would die, and it was dead.
We asked him if we could now tell all the real estate agents and everyone that absolutely, it was dead, and he said yes, it is dead. He said if the Planning Commission were to rewrite a new one, it would be starting over, and it would have to go through the entire process all over again, but the Board has not asked them to write a new one or to rethink any old ones. It is dead.
And that’s what happened at the Supervisor’s Retreat. If you would like to Blog about this, push the Comments button.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Directions to the Retreat
The Supervisors Retreat, which will be held on Thursday, June 14 beginning at 9 a.m. is an open public meeting. The purpose of the retreat is to review the Comprehensive Plan, which is the document with the four references to the flood plain ordinance. It is expected to be a meeting that runs from about 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (that's how long the room is reserved for)
The room the meeting is in is either called the Mountain Room or the Montana Room. Anyway, it's the room next to the Dining Room, so follow the signs to the Dining Room. Skyland Resort is on the Skyline Drive, so you have to pay a fee to get on the drive of $15. Try asking at the toll booth if you can skip the fee because you are going to this public meeting. The Resort is about 10 miles south of the Luray entrance to Skyline Drive (which is on Rte 211 between Luray and Sperryville) It takes about 40 minutes to get there from Luray.
See you there.
Alice
http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/shenandoah_skyland.htm
http://members.aol.com/adnascar/skyland.html
The room the meeting is in is either called the Mountain Room or the Montana Room. Anyway, it's the room next to the Dining Room, so follow the signs to the Dining Room. Skyland Resort is on the Skyline Drive, so you have to pay a fee to get on the drive of $15. Try asking at the toll booth if you can skip the fee because you are going to this public meeting. The Resort is about 10 miles south of the Luray entrance to Skyline Drive (which is on Rte 211 between Luray and Sperryville) It takes about 40 minutes to get there from Luray.
See you there.
Alice
http://www.nationalparkreservations.com/shenandoah_skyland.htm
http://members.aol.com/adnascar/skyland.html
Friday, June 8, 2007
The Original Donato Document
This is what the Donato Document was before Dot sat down with Natalie to revise it. The background is this. Dot called me and apologized for her hiccup vote. She said that wasn't what she meant to do. She said what she meant to do was take advantage of the broad citizen participation to work out something that would broadly address the destination and tourism aspects, which would also include bio-friendly business. I thought her ideas sounded good. I agreed to work with her to develop this document. She and I emailed back and forth and came up with the document below. However, after one iteration, she sent back a new draft, the one which I posted as The Donato Document. This is the draft before it was changed. Is it my imagination that these two documents have a dramatically different intention? (See the Donato Document DRAFT to compare.)
The Original Donato Document
Destination and Tourism Industry Strategic Plan
Given:
1. Our Comprehensive Plan includes competing objectives
2. We have Economic goals, Preservation of the Rural Nature goals, Service to existing citizens goals, Property Rights goals, Environmental goals
3. These goals tend to conflict, which would cause confusion and inconsistency when we ask our Planners to form tactics for zoning and other ordinance formation.
4. Further guidance and development is required in the Comprehensive Plan, to show leadership for the county and promote and advance our precious lifestyle, while moving the county forward economically, and incorporating inevitable change.
5. A consistency in the Comprehensive Plan requires resolution of these competing objectives for economic advancement, preservation of the rural nature, and environmental awareness.With these challenges in mind, I
Move to appoint:
A nucleus of visionaries who are diverse in talent and who are, by intellect, experience, or position, aware of the challenges and obstacles defining Page County. This ad hoc citizen committee will work in concert with and integrate the objectives found in the Economic Development Strategic Plan, the EDC, the Tourism Council and Chamber of Commerce, the local and regional hospitality industries and incorporate the goals and objectives of the river and recreation groups. This committee will address policy, ordinance, and objectives found in the Comprehensive Plan but which need specific focus on the impact on our internal citizenry and the tourism industry. Its composition will include representative citizens from a wide range of community interests. It will submit its work directly to the BOS.
A document will be delivered to this BOS which recognizes the physical attributes, the environmental considerations, the recreational potential and the cultural aspects that will be declared as representative of Page Valley. Our vision can then be publicized very specifically in brochures and distribution materials.
Prologue:
We are an island (a unique travel location) destination. Beyond the caverns and the National Park, the recognition of Page County as a destination lies in the vision and language we choose to project. This can be an asset or a stumbling block. Potential travelers read the paper, study the area and search for information on the internet. Our county’s roads isolate it from the surrounding communities, making it difficult for our citizens to work in nearby counties without driving more than an hour over a mountain. If we can take advantage of that tourism to bring jobs to our citizens, we have accomplished multiple strategic objectives in parallel.
The Tourist as Participant
Tourists are much more than spectators. Tourists are you and I coming HERE for the first time. I seek out the music, you may seek out the conference or the river or the caves. They see what we offer, they go where we suggest they go…but for the most part they see themselves “inserted here”. Whether they respite from an illness, retreat from the day to day, pause from their worldly travels or simply leave the traffic and pollution from the city they are “us” on a holiday. Tourists are artists, writers, doctors, scientists, geologists, tradesmen, investors and teachers. They hike, canoe, hunt, and fish. They breathe in our clean air; they wonder as they stand by a spring bubbling fresh clean water from under a rock. They feel healthier just being here. Many become part of the process and bring with them ideas and attitudes. Who comes is, in many ways, still up to us. I recently met a scientist counting dead fish. He moved here and his intelligence is part of our network now. When we project a goodness and welcome and invite their individual participation they want to know us. We become a very desirable destination.
They might have seen the world but they feel a sense of belonging. Whether they stay longer, come often or choose to relocate here, our economy grows with their choice.
Impact and Direction
A Plan is the work that needs to be done in advance of their visit. The Comprehensive Plan recognizes the need to promote tourism and we need to study closely the cause and effect of policy. Many of the rental cabin owners and the riverside property owners want to participate in this work. Additionally, our community consists of a wide and diverse body of people, all of whom desire to be included in the direction of the county. A Plan should contain, not only the reasons for supporting the efforts of tourism, but must include the fundamentals. Issues will be addressed to include suggested Land Use particulars, zoning requirements (including necessary restrictions and variances as in overlay districting), services, safety, recreation specifics, visitor welcome areas, special needs “help” and much more. Any decisions will be made with consideration to the local citizenry and with their active participation and understanding. Also included will be the cooperation with the Town’s Comprehensive Plans. A promotion of synergy for cottage industries and local shops to benefit from visitation should be encouraged. Promotional ideas, designs and concepts might be included in the documentation forwarded to the Board for consideration.
The Bio-Valley Hub
This valley has the potential for being recognized as a global leader, incubator and study area for new and innovative environmentally-focused technologies. Consistent with our desire to remain a rural area, with agriculture and tourism as our main industries, we can also be a hub for bio-fuels, green building, recycling, renewable food sources and a gathering place for the innovators. For example, a university group initiated a low cost fertilizer project for some ravaged and poor area in Africa. The result of higher yield and renewable crops was extremely successful. Page County not only has the chicken farming knowledge but has the bi-product export. Government grants are available to pursue environmental businesses. Page County has a need for jobs, an expanding population of talented, retired professionals, and the potential to become the hub of environmental research. This attraction of environmental businesses would:
• Provide much needed jobs for our citizens
• Increase the attraction of tourism, as tourists would visit the cutting edge facilities
• Address the concerns of citizens on both ends of the spectrum, environmentally concerned and economically concerned
Preserving our Precious, Rural Lifestyle
There is much concern in the County that growth will ruin our culture and destroy our lifestyle. There is a temptation to interpret that concern as a need to restrict the rights of property owners, devaluing land by adding restrictions to it, so that we can be assured that “nothing will change.” But that response overlooks the fact that the forces of the market are forces of nature. To fight forces of nature by attempting to restrict them, will result only in a spiral downward in our economy, and a growing population of poorer people who need more services and have less to offer the tax base. Our only chance to preserve our lifestyle, while serving our people, is to embrace the market forces, accept the inevitable influx of retiring Baby Boomers, and let the county become a hub of a specific “type” of business, by actively seeking out grants and opportunities in the environmental industry. By planning in advance for this growth, we can shape it in a way that satisfies the potential new citizens without displacing our current rural nature. We can provide jobs for our citizens that will raise their standard of living. Tourists will love it, it will provide the tax base our community needs, and the community can support it on multiple levels.
Community Vision
We have so much to offer visitors who then, in their life work, might change the future. We simply require the determination to Prepare Ourselves, Write the Documents for grants and to encourage business, and invite the world (for a visit). We already have 500,000 visitors a year. Let’s turn those visitors into tax revenue, provide stable incomes for our resident citizens, and preserve our rural lifestyle all at the same time. With widespread community representation from all “factions” (long term residents, farmers, townspeople, environmentalists, business proponents, riverkeepers, river property owners, tourist cabin owners, and any other faction that self selects), we can unite this community behind a vision and build a county that truly reflects what we all know this county already is.
Conclusion
There is community support for a determined effort at this time. A milestone report could be delivered tothe Board with significant fanfare before the November elections. This Board can be seen as the Board with Vision and Leadership for this county. This is the time to have these discussions and to suggest the options. We are not Silicon Valley, we are not Napa Valley. But we can be uniquely Page Valley.What Valley do you see?
Respectfully submitted,
Dot Donato, Page County Planning Commissioner, 5th District
Endorsed and supported,Alice Richmond
The Original Donato Document
Destination and Tourism Industry Strategic Plan
Given:
1. Our Comprehensive Plan includes competing objectives
2. We have Economic goals, Preservation of the Rural Nature goals, Service to existing citizens goals, Property Rights goals, Environmental goals
3. These goals tend to conflict, which would cause confusion and inconsistency when we ask our Planners to form tactics for zoning and other ordinance formation.
4. Further guidance and development is required in the Comprehensive Plan, to show leadership for the county and promote and advance our precious lifestyle, while moving the county forward economically, and incorporating inevitable change.
5. A consistency in the Comprehensive Plan requires resolution of these competing objectives for economic advancement, preservation of the rural nature, and environmental awareness.With these challenges in mind, I
Move to appoint:
A nucleus of visionaries who are diverse in talent and who are, by intellect, experience, or position, aware of the challenges and obstacles defining Page County. This ad hoc citizen committee will work in concert with and integrate the objectives found in the Economic Development Strategic Plan, the EDC, the Tourism Council and Chamber of Commerce, the local and regional hospitality industries and incorporate the goals and objectives of the river and recreation groups. This committee will address policy, ordinance, and objectives found in the Comprehensive Plan but which need specific focus on the impact on our internal citizenry and the tourism industry. Its composition will include representative citizens from a wide range of community interests. It will submit its work directly to the BOS.
A document will be delivered to this BOS which recognizes the physical attributes, the environmental considerations, the recreational potential and the cultural aspects that will be declared as representative of Page Valley. Our vision can then be publicized very specifically in brochures and distribution materials.
Prologue:
We are an island (a unique travel location) destination. Beyond the caverns and the National Park, the recognition of Page County as a destination lies in the vision and language we choose to project. This can be an asset or a stumbling block. Potential travelers read the paper, study the area and search for information on the internet. Our county’s roads isolate it from the surrounding communities, making it difficult for our citizens to work in nearby counties without driving more than an hour over a mountain. If we can take advantage of that tourism to bring jobs to our citizens, we have accomplished multiple strategic objectives in parallel.
The Tourist as Participant
Tourists are much more than spectators. Tourists are you and I coming HERE for the first time. I seek out the music, you may seek out the conference or the river or the caves. They see what we offer, they go where we suggest they go…but for the most part they see themselves “inserted here”. Whether they respite from an illness, retreat from the day to day, pause from their worldly travels or simply leave the traffic and pollution from the city they are “us” on a holiday. Tourists are artists, writers, doctors, scientists, geologists, tradesmen, investors and teachers. They hike, canoe, hunt, and fish. They breathe in our clean air; they wonder as they stand by a spring bubbling fresh clean water from under a rock. They feel healthier just being here. Many become part of the process and bring with them ideas and attitudes. Who comes is, in many ways, still up to us. I recently met a scientist counting dead fish. He moved here and his intelligence is part of our network now. When we project a goodness and welcome and invite their individual participation they want to know us. We become a very desirable destination.
They might have seen the world but they feel a sense of belonging. Whether they stay longer, come often or choose to relocate here, our economy grows with their choice.
Impact and Direction
A Plan is the work that needs to be done in advance of their visit. The Comprehensive Plan recognizes the need to promote tourism and we need to study closely the cause and effect of policy. Many of the rental cabin owners and the riverside property owners want to participate in this work. Additionally, our community consists of a wide and diverse body of people, all of whom desire to be included in the direction of the county. A Plan should contain, not only the reasons for supporting the efforts of tourism, but must include the fundamentals. Issues will be addressed to include suggested Land Use particulars, zoning requirements (including necessary restrictions and variances as in overlay districting), services, safety, recreation specifics, visitor welcome areas, special needs “help” and much more. Any decisions will be made with consideration to the local citizenry and with their active participation and understanding. Also included will be the cooperation with the Town’s Comprehensive Plans. A promotion of synergy for cottage industries and local shops to benefit from visitation should be encouraged. Promotional ideas, designs and concepts might be included in the documentation forwarded to the Board for consideration.
The Bio-Valley Hub
This valley has the potential for being recognized as a global leader, incubator and study area for new and innovative environmentally-focused technologies. Consistent with our desire to remain a rural area, with agriculture and tourism as our main industries, we can also be a hub for bio-fuels, green building, recycling, renewable food sources and a gathering place for the innovators. For example, a university group initiated a low cost fertilizer project for some ravaged and poor area in Africa. The result of higher yield and renewable crops was extremely successful. Page County not only has the chicken farming knowledge but has the bi-product export. Government grants are available to pursue environmental businesses. Page County has a need for jobs, an expanding population of talented, retired professionals, and the potential to become the hub of environmental research. This attraction of environmental businesses would:
• Provide much needed jobs for our citizens
• Increase the attraction of tourism, as tourists would visit the cutting edge facilities
• Address the concerns of citizens on both ends of the spectrum, environmentally concerned and economically concerned
Preserving our Precious, Rural Lifestyle
There is much concern in the County that growth will ruin our culture and destroy our lifestyle. There is a temptation to interpret that concern as a need to restrict the rights of property owners, devaluing land by adding restrictions to it, so that we can be assured that “nothing will change.” But that response overlooks the fact that the forces of the market are forces of nature. To fight forces of nature by attempting to restrict them, will result only in a spiral downward in our economy, and a growing population of poorer people who need more services and have less to offer the tax base. Our only chance to preserve our lifestyle, while serving our people, is to embrace the market forces, accept the inevitable influx of retiring Baby Boomers, and let the county become a hub of a specific “type” of business, by actively seeking out grants and opportunities in the environmental industry. By planning in advance for this growth, we can shape it in a way that satisfies the potential new citizens without displacing our current rural nature. We can provide jobs for our citizens that will raise their standard of living. Tourists will love it, it will provide the tax base our community needs, and the community can support it on multiple levels.
Community Vision
We have so much to offer visitors who then, in their life work, might change the future. We simply require the determination to Prepare Ourselves, Write the Documents for grants and to encourage business, and invite the world (for a visit). We already have 500,000 visitors a year. Let’s turn those visitors into tax revenue, provide stable incomes for our resident citizens, and preserve our rural lifestyle all at the same time. With widespread community representation from all “factions” (long term residents, farmers, townspeople, environmentalists, business proponents, riverkeepers, river property owners, tourist cabin owners, and any other faction that self selects), we can unite this community behind a vision and build a county that truly reflects what we all know this county already is.
Conclusion
There is community support for a determined effort at this time. A milestone report could be delivered tothe Board with significant fanfare before the November elections. This Board can be seen as the Board with Vision and Leadership for this county. This is the time to have these discussions and to suggest the options. We are not Silicon Valley, we are not Napa Valley. But we can be uniquely Page Valley.What Valley do you see?
Respectfully submitted,
Dot Donato, Page County Planning Commissioner, 5th District
Endorsed and supported,Alice Richmond
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
FLOOD PLAIN documenting
This Blog Thread is for all the people who make phone calls to the Supervisors and Commissioners, etc. Just push the Comments button and document what your conversation was about. Here's the first one. Add yours.
June 6, 2007
At 10:15 a.m., Donna Eames called Supervisor Tommy LaFrance. She quotes him as saying that the Flood Plain Ordinance, with all its restrictions, was never going to pass the Board. He said they would never do something like that. She asked him what this business was of the Planning Commission making motions and going back to take another run at it, in the Zoning Subcommittee again. She brought up the conversations she had with Mr. Eldridge, in which he reiterated his desire to have all the people who live on the flood plain, essentially "turn themselves in" to get new occupancy certificates. Mr. LaFrance said the Board cannot stop the Planning Commission from working on something, but he thinks they should work on something more productive, as restrictions like this are not going to be passed by the Board.
Push the comments button and record phone conversations you have had about this issue.
June 6, 2007
At 10:15 a.m., Donna Eames called Supervisor Tommy LaFrance. She quotes him as saying that the Flood Plain Ordinance, with all its restrictions, was never going to pass the Board. He said they would never do something like that. She asked him what this business was of the Planning Commission making motions and going back to take another run at it, in the Zoning Subcommittee again. She brought up the conversations she had with Mr. Eldridge, in which he reiterated his desire to have all the people who live on the flood plain, essentially "turn themselves in" to get new occupancy certificates. Mr. LaFrance said the Board cannot stop the Planning Commission from working on something, but he thinks they should work on something more productive, as restrictions like this are not going to be passed by the Board.
Push the comments button and record phone conversations you have had about this issue.
The Donato Document DRAFT
The following document is presented to citizens for comment, editing, and augmenting IN ADVANCE of it being presented before any commission or Board for action. This document was prepared by Planning Commissioner Dot Donato. Essentially, Ms. Donato is asking for citizen comment, as an apology for her ill-considered "vote rescinsion" that would have revived the Flood Plain Ordinance. She says she did not mean to do that, she just wanted citizen participation and involvement, and didn't want to lose the opportunity now that everyone was paying attention and getting involved. This document is what she meant to do instead. Please read it and comment, by hitting the Comments button. Now is our chance to be involved before things get out of hand and become "too late." This document has NOT been submitted to the Board. Please comment now, and your comments have an excellent chance of making a difference.
The Donato Document - DRAFT
Dear Board:
Following numerous discussions with citizens on the Scenic 340 group and the cabin and landowners in Land of Luray, I am finding consensus on the following proposal. Please read the attached and consider a motion to establish a committee to discuss and prepare a Strategic Plan detailing issues specific to Destination Tourism.
The Comprehensive Plan currently under review includes a set of Objectives. It sets a broad vision for those elements of valley life that should be primary in our planning. Separately we provide goals to promote and protect the rural and natural environments, economic balance, citizen services levels, property rights and the general term, tourism. To base planning criteria on the Plan with these objectives is certain to leave room for confusion and inconsistency. I suggest we augment the Comp. Plan with a supplemental Addendum with specific guidelines for tourism industry group factors. For instance, clearly define the building and zoning criteria, which may need variance or special use tactics to enable the building of mountain and river cabins, lodges, recreational facilities, ingress and egress, and other considerations. Encouraging public visitation to many areas of the County may require different allowances that are not in compliance with our standard zoning ordinances. It may be preferable to establish land use particulars for overlay districts for those areas we define as “destinations”.
The suggestion here is to discuss, define, and write a document, which will review as many scenarios as possible by a diverse group of professionals and present the document to the BOS for acceptance into the Comprehensive Plan. Use of the Economic Development Strategic Plan as the guiding document is also suggested.
Thank you for your time in reviewing and discussion this. A description and supportive documentation is provided.
Regards,
Dot Donato, Planning Commissioner D5
Move to Appoint:
Please consider a motion to establish:
A nucleus of visionaries who are diverse in talent and who are, by intellect, experience or position, aware of the challenges facing the Board of Supervisors. One objective in the Comprehensive Plan (rewrite draft 2007) defines Tourism as an economic engine. This citizen committee will work in concert with the Planning Commission in an attempt to provide more detail specific to the growing Tourism industry. The accepted Economic Development Strategic Plan will guide the process. The purpose of the document will be to integrate the objectives found in the ED Plan, the EDC, the Tourism Council/Chamber goals, the incorporated towns and the local/regional hospitality groups. The committee will address policy, ordinances and objectives desired and required by destination owners. This guiding document should support the Board of Supervisors in the future by providing an assessment of a variety of special use facilities (destinations) and the resulting revenue projections for each. This will serve as a resource for determining service levels for our CIPs and models.
The citizens of Page will have many opportunities to suggest input to the overall vision for the county. This group will lead forums for comment and discussion that will be very open and inclusive. Considerable effort will be taken to include the planners, the Board, the industry, property owners and citizens who may be affected by design or policy changes. Public reaction will be documented and included in a final draft.
Expected results will include a structured plan for review, inclusion and implementation. Statements of vision for a tourist friendly community will give us the words to be shared universally. Descriptions of the valley’s unique environments with emphasis on attracting tourism industry prospects will be drafted. The document will provide criteria and provisions for use in the Zoning rewrite process and the Land Use planning process specific to tourism destinations.
Prologue:
We are an island (a unique and separate travel destination). Beyond the Caverns and the National Parks, the recognition of Page County as a destination lies in the vision we project. Potential visitors read the local paper, study the area on the Internet, or more than likely ask someone they know about the county. Our byways separate us from the mainstream destinations along major routes so visitors have to choose to come here. A negative result of limited access is the limited job market. Small business owners also need to have incentive before investing in a site for their retail or service shop. If we can take advantage of preparing the economic climate for business success we will benefit from a growing employment base, a very desirable result for this county.
Each tourist has huge potential to become part of our expansion. Tourists are much more that spectators. Tourists are you and I coming here for the first time. I seek out music in the park and invitations to sing. Does the conference or the river attract you? Tourists see what we offer them, they go where we suggest they go, but they come here to experience themselves. I am here to participate and you certainly are involved in the community. The secret key to travelers becoming our valuable asset is in the level of their participation. The business traveler becomes the landowner who builds rental cabins who provides tours who sends guests to the restaurants in town who, in the end, pays taxes. The annual guest to the caverns decides to purchase a farm and then retires here. He may be a great musician or a philanthropist giving back invaluable gifts to our citizens. Preparing for tourism is not simply distributing a brochure full of enchanting photos, it requires patience and planning. We can discourage a new landowner by rejecting their applications or making it impossible to live out a dream. The opportunity is now to define our future recreation and destinations and invite the dreamers who protect our environment and history. We welcome the right industry by paving the way for those businesses that are appropriate. Generic ordinances are, in the long run, shortsighted. Our landscape varies widely and the right rules need to be assigned (using overlay districts) to accommodate bus tours and individuals.
Impact and direction
A Plan is the work that is done in advance of the outcome. In the case of tourism it is the preparation that we will do in advance of each visit. The Comp. Plan recognizes the need to promote and encourage Tourism. We need to study closely the cause and effect of our current policies and recommend changes. Many of the rental cabin owners and the riverside property owners want to participate in this work. Additionally, our community consists of a very diverse body of people, all of whom desire to be heard. Everyone has an interest in directing the future of the valley. Some have a vested interest some have a legacy to protect. Everyone should have a say and this work group will provide forums and open air gatherings where ideas will be shared.
Items for discussion will include: building specifications and codes; zoning ordinances, VDOT regulations and exceptions, alternative energy applications; passive solar, wind, subterranean building, non-electric septic solutions and lighting exceptions, green building materials etc. Recreation issues both water and mountains. A discussion of finding areas conducive to extreme sports and cycling may influence a new industry here. There are numerous critical issues to share and we hope to initiate the conversation and the groundwork to enable us to grow our destination offerings and our revenue base.
Vision for the future.
This valley has the potential for being recognized as a global leader. How you ask?
Consider our valley as an incubator and study area for new technology and innovative global initiatives. The federal government is looking for a site for a multi billion dollar electric plant, which will provide enough energy for half of the east coast. This is a project by the energy department that is the first complete life cycle (no emissions) plant. Think of the tourist who would be invited to see this “global warming solution”. Consider the evolving research for alternative bio-products. For fuel, for food and for self-sustaining communities around the world, the universities are looking for places to grow plants. Expand the Land Use program to encourage young people to live and work here.
A recent story has been published about a Columbia University group who sent low cost fertilizer to a few African villages who continually suffered food shortages. They sent a derivative of chicken litter. The renewable fertilizer was a huge success. We have chickens (sustainable) and the bi-product already in production in Page. Federal grants are available for environmental, clean water and global warming solutions we just need to attract those tourist/scientist/decision makers for a visit. Of course Dr. Cardman can show them where their innovation can take root. We’ll set the course and the great people will come. This attraction to cutting edge businesses will provide a unique tourism industry base and will provide much needed high-end jobs. Our citizen base increases and our knowledge base grows.
There is much concern in the County that growth will ruin our culture and destroy our lifestyle. We all share this concern because we have many examples in surrounding localities. We see the results of uncontrolled development. This trepidation temps us to interpret that concern as a need to restrict the “best and highest use” provided us in property ownership by drafting zoning regulations that generalize use and forbid any building. I interpret the growth as forces of the changing market, a force that will infiltrate the valley simply by supply and demand for homesites (the American Dream). To fight the forces of nature by universally projecting a policy of “no growth” will result in downward trends in our economy. Herein lies the challenge, the challenge of adopting a publicity piece, the Comprehensive Plan. Land owners, citizens, taxpayers have every right to opinion and position in any thoughtful land use planning. It is the current populace who connects the past with future. Change is inevitable and we need consensus in defining our vision.
Conclusion:
There is community support for a determined effort to communicate openly. A milestone report could be delivered to the Board that at the very least provides various prospectives. There are support groups, conscious groups, industry leaders and many others who deserve the opportunity to be heard. The public forum provided by the Planning Commission meetings and the BOS meetings is failing to satisfy the involved public. This proposal will expound on the subjects heard before and allow for opinion and options based on vision of the whole. It will also generate a Strategic Plan for Destination Tourism for the Board to review and accept as an appendix to the Comp. Plan and an addendum to the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
This is the time to have these discussions. We are not the silicon valley, we are not Napa Valley….we are unique so lets find the words to describe Page.
Respectfully submitted for consideration by,
Dot Donato, Page County Planning Commissioner D5
Director, Loudoun County Convention and Visitors Bureau (1992-1997)
Executive Director, Harpers Ferry Merchants Assoc. HF, WV (1987-1991)
The Donato Document - DRAFT
Dear Board:
Following numerous discussions with citizens on the Scenic 340 group and the cabin and landowners in Land of Luray, I am finding consensus on the following proposal. Please read the attached and consider a motion to establish a committee to discuss and prepare a Strategic Plan detailing issues specific to Destination Tourism.
The Comprehensive Plan currently under review includes a set of Objectives. It sets a broad vision for those elements of valley life that should be primary in our planning. Separately we provide goals to promote and protect the rural and natural environments, economic balance, citizen services levels, property rights and the general term, tourism. To base planning criteria on the Plan with these objectives is certain to leave room for confusion and inconsistency. I suggest we augment the Comp. Plan with a supplemental Addendum with specific guidelines for tourism industry group factors. For instance, clearly define the building and zoning criteria, which may need variance or special use tactics to enable the building of mountain and river cabins, lodges, recreational facilities, ingress and egress, and other considerations. Encouraging public visitation to many areas of the County may require different allowances that are not in compliance with our standard zoning ordinances. It may be preferable to establish land use particulars for overlay districts for those areas we define as “destinations”.
The suggestion here is to discuss, define, and write a document, which will review as many scenarios as possible by a diverse group of professionals and present the document to the BOS for acceptance into the Comprehensive Plan. Use of the Economic Development Strategic Plan as the guiding document is also suggested.
Thank you for your time in reviewing and discussion this. A description and supportive documentation is provided.
Regards,
Dot Donato, Planning Commissioner D5
Move to Appoint:
Please consider a motion to establish:
A nucleus of visionaries who are diverse in talent and who are, by intellect, experience or position, aware of the challenges facing the Board of Supervisors. One objective in the Comprehensive Plan (rewrite draft 2007) defines Tourism as an economic engine. This citizen committee will work in concert with the Planning Commission in an attempt to provide more detail specific to the growing Tourism industry. The accepted Economic Development Strategic Plan will guide the process. The purpose of the document will be to integrate the objectives found in the ED Plan, the EDC, the Tourism Council/Chamber goals, the incorporated towns and the local/regional hospitality groups. The committee will address policy, ordinances and objectives desired and required by destination owners. This guiding document should support the Board of Supervisors in the future by providing an assessment of a variety of special use facilities (destinations) and the resulting revenue projections for each. This will serve as a resource for determining service levels for our CIPs and models.
The citizens of Page will have many opportunities to suggest input to the overall vision for the county. This group will lead forums for comment and discussion that will be very open and inclusive. Considerable effort will be taken to include the planners, the Board, the industry, property owners and citizens who may be affected by design or policy changes. Public reaction will be documented and included in a final draft.
Expected results will include a structured plan for review, inclusion and implementation. Statements of vision for a tourist friendly community will give us the words to be shared universally. Descriptions of the valley’s unique environments with emphasis on attracting tourism industry prospects will be drafted. The document will provide criteria and provisions for use in the Zoning rewrite process and the Land Use planning process specific to tourism destinations.
Prologue:
We are an island (a unique and separate travel destination). Beyond the Caverns and the National Parks, the recognition of Page County as a destination lies in the vision we project. Potential visitors read the local paper, study the area on the Internet, or more than likely ask someone they know about the county. Our byways separate us from the mainstream destinations along major routes so visitors have to choose to come here. A negative result of limited access is the limited job market. Small business owners also need to have incentive before investing in a site for their retail or service shop. If we can take advantage of preparing the economic climate for business success we will benefit from a growing employment base, a very desirable result for this county.
Each tourist has huge potential to become part of our expansion. Tourists are much more that spectators. Tourists are you and I coming here for the first time. I seek out music in the park and invitations to sing. Does the conference or the river attract you? Tourists see what we offer them, they go where we suggest they go, but they come here to experience themselves. I am here to participate and you certainly are involved in the community. The secret key to travelers becoming our valuable asset is in the level of their participation. The business traveler becomes the landowner who builds rental cabins who provides tours who sends guests to the restaurants in town who, in the end, pays taxes. The annual guest to the caverns decides to purchase a farm and then retires here. He may be a great musician or a philanthropist giving back invaluable gifts to our citizens. Preparing for tourism is not simply distributing a brochure full of enchanting photos, it requires patience and planning. We can discourage a new landowner by rejecting their applications or making it impossible to live out a dream. The opportunity is now to define our future recreation and destinations and invite the dreamers who protect our environment and history. We welcome the right industry by paving the way for those businesses that are appropriate. Generic ordinances are, in the long run, shortsighted. Our landscape varies widely and the right rules need to be assigned (using overlay districts) to accommodate bus tours and individuals.
Impact and direction
A Plan is the work that is done in advance of the outcome. In the case of tourism it is the preparation that we will do in advance of each visit. The Comp. Plan recognizes the need to promote and encourage Tourism. We need to study closely the cause and effect of our current policies and recommend changes. Many of the rental cabin owners and the riverside property owners want to participate in this work. Additionally, our community consists of a very diverse body of people, all of whom desire to be heard. Everyone has an interest in directing the future of the valley. Some have a vested interest some have a legacy to protect. Everyone should have a say and this work group will provide forums and open air gatherings where ideas will be shared.
Items for discussion will include: building specifications and codes; zoning ordinances, VDOT regulations and exceptions, alternative energy applications; passive solar, wind, subterranean building, non-electric septic solutions and lighting exceptions, green building materials etc. Recreation issues both water and mountains. A discussion of finding areas conducive to extreme sports and cycling may influence a new industry here. There are numerous critical issues to share and we hope to initiate the conversation and the groundwork to enable us to grow our destination offerings and our revenue base.
Vision for the future.
This valley has the potential for being recognized as a global leader. How you ask?
Consider our valley as an incubator and study area for new technology and innovative global initiatives. The federal government is looking for a site for a multi billion dollar electric plant, which will provide enough energy for half of the east coast. This is a project by the energy department that is the first complete life cycle (no emissions) plant. Think of the tourist who would be invited to see this “global warming solution”. Consider the evolving research for alternative bio-products. For fuel, for food and for self-sustaining communities around the world, the universities are looking for places to grow plants. Expand the Land Use program to encourage young people to live and work here.
A recent story has been published about a Columbia University group who sent low cost fertilizer to a few African villages who continually suffered food shortages. They sent a derivative of chicken litter. The renewable fertilizer was a huge success. We have chickens (sustainable) and the bi-product already in production in Page. Federal grants are available for environmental, clean water and global warming solutions we just need to attract those tourist/scientist/decision makers for a visit. Of course Dr. Cardman can show them where their innovation can take root. We’ll set the course and the great people will come. This attraction to cutting edge businesses will provide a unique tourism industry base and will provide much needed high-end jobs. Our citizen base increases and our knowledge base grows.
There is much concern in the County that growth will ruin our culture and destroy our lifestyle. We all share this concern because we have many examples in surrounding localities. We see the results of uncontrolled development. This trepidation temps us to interpret that concern as a need to restrict the “best and highest use” provided us in property ownership by drafting zoning regulations that generalize use and forbid any building. I interpret the growth as forces of the changing market, a force that will infiltrate the valley simply by supply and demand for homesites (the American Dream). To fight the forces of nature by universally projecting a policy of “no growth” will result in downward trends in our economy. Herein lies the challenge, the challenge of adopting a publicity piece, the Comprehensive Plan. Land owners, citizens, taxpayers have every right to opinion and position in any thoughtful land use planning. It is the current populace who connects the past with future. Change is inevitable and we need consensus in defining our vision.
Conclusion:
There is community support for a determined effort to communicate openly. A milestone report could be delivered to the Board that at the very least provides various prospectives. There are support groups, conscious groups, industry leaders and many others who deserve the opportunity to be heard. The public forum provided by the Planning Commission meetings and the BOS meetings is failing to satisfy the involved public. This proposal will expound on the subjects heard before and allow for opinion and options based on vision of the whole. It will also generate a Strategic Plan for Destination Tourism for the Board to review and accept as an appendix to the Comp. Plan and an addendum to the Economic Development Strategic Plan.
This is the time to have these discussions. We are not the silicon valley, we are not Napa Valley….we are unique so lets find the words to describe Page.
Respectfully submitted for consideration by,
Dot Donato, Page County Planning Commissioner D5
Director, Loudoun County Convention and Visitors Bureau (1992-1997)
Executive Director, Harpers Ferry Merchants Assoc. HF, WV (1987-1991)
Notes from the June 5 meeting
News from the Board June 5, 2007-06-06
The Board of Supervisors met in Work Session on June 5. Here’s what happened. (Disclaimer: these are one citizens notes from observation. They are not the official minutes of the meeting.)
1. The Special Use Permit for Joseph Salyards was approved. This is that business that does some kind of waste and recycling stuff. It had been closed down since April because it was operating in a place that wasn’t zoned for that kind of operation. It can now reopen, which will allow it to clean up all the materials that have been building up since it was closed. It is reopening under a temporary arrangement, while it builds a place to move to that is zoned for it. Dr. Cardman, of the Economic Development area, is working with this business. It sounds like a very good business for our area, which has the promise of building jobs.
2. The County Budget was presented for public comments. Nobody commented. I have a comment, but I’m reserving it for its own topic. Basically, the budget is a little bit higher than last year in most categories, and it adds $36M to pay the debt for the schools. We’ll talk about this more over time, but it’s one of those topics you have to dig deeply into, and I’m still focusing on the Comprehensive Plan and the Flood Plain Ordinance right now. If anybody wants to dig into the budget, just call Carolyn at the County offices. 743-4142 Ask for a line item copy of the budget to be mailed to you under Freedom of Information. If you do analyze it, email Research@PageCountyWatch.org and let us know your thoughts. The Budget will be voted on at the June 19 Board meeting. My basic take on it is: there’s time to consider that later. If this year has an extra $36M to pay for the schools, that means the schools will be paid for in two years. So three years from now, what does the county do with all that extra money?
3. There’s some kind of internal conflict on the county’s co-ed softball team. It’s about who is allowed to play. The Supervisors are going to discuss it with the Recreation Director.
4. Henry Milkus gave a report on the Public Works Department, but I didn’t actually understand it.
5. Powell Markowitz talked about his proposal to lower the property tax on aircraft. The basic proposal is this: all the surrounding counties have tax on aircraft that is about 50 cents and ours is $2.70 (I think, I’m not sure, but its high). Powell says this causes people who have airplanes to park their planes in some other county, at some other airport. We then can not attract new planes. We only get the old planes that are depreciated already and don’t have to pay so much tax. Powell is trying to get grants from the FAA to build hangers, I think about 30 hangers. And also to expand the airport more, and add instrument landing and stuff like that. Powell says the airport is a draw for business to come to the community, and should be supported. He quoted some studies about what an airport does for a community’s business base. He is getting $10Million in FAA grants to build it, and the county loaned him about $45,000 at one point, for engineering plans for these hangers, which he needed to get the grant, and which will be paid back from these grants. So once he gets all these hangers built and the longer runway and the 30 hangers, then all the planes and the people who maintain them are jobs, plus the attraction of an airport here allows jobs. Supervisor Hoke said something about it not being right for poor people to pay their full taxes, but people who can afford airplanes get their taxes reduced. Markowitz said these planes are sometimes used for sport, but they are often used for business and to attract business, and we as a community need this airport to be a leverage for business attraction. Mr. LaFrance said he was “not opposed to taxing people who can afford airplanes.” Mr. Markowitz cited some figures about how we aren’t getting the new planes because of this, and he calculated how much tax revenue there would be if he completed his plan and got the new planes in, and he showed how there would still be the same total dollar revenue to the county as there was now, even with the reduced tax rate, if he could get the new planes in, and then there would be a draw for business and it would be a win-win. So Chairman LaFrance appointed a committee to study the issue and report back. The Committee is chaired by Supervisor Strickler, and members are Dr. Cardman, Charlie Campbell (Commissioner of Revenue), and Powell Markowitze.
6. Next was an issue about the new houses being built by the airport. The developer was thinking of putting a drainage pond at the end of the runway, and the FAA says that’s no good, and the county doesn’t really have a representative, no “dog in the fight”, as Mr. LaFrance said, and they need one. But I missed how that was resolved.
7. George Shanks suggested that the county add a probate tax, which we currently don’t have. It would generate $7,500 a year in tax revenue, I guess because people around here are so poor they don’t have much of an estate to pass on, so the probate tax wouldn’t be much. Mr. Shanks said it wouldn’t be a significant imposition, and Charlie Hoke said, “all tax is a significant imposition”. But they decided to go ahead with it. There will be a public hearing scheduled.
8. They changed the security fee you have to pay if you go to criminal and traffic court and lose. It was $5 and now it will be $10. This money goes to a fund that pays for courthouse security. You don’t pay it if you win the case.
9. There was a topic on vehicle use, but I must not have been paying attention because I didn’t write anything in my notes about that.
10. There is a National Association of County Officials conference, but nobody is going.
They then went into closed session to talk about the new County Office Building. This is a valid closed session topic, because if you are talking about contract negotiations, it isn’t sensible to do it in a public forum.
Oh, now I remember why I missed that vehicle use topic! George Shanks brought up (again, this was not on the agenda) the Vote Hiccup on the Planning Commission last time about the Flood Plain Ordinance. I’ll make a new topic to discuss that.
The Board of Supervisors met in Work Session on June 5. Here’s what happened. (Disclaimer: these are one citizens notes from observation. They are not the official minutes of the meeting.)
1. The Special Use Permit for Joseph Salyards was approved. This is that business that does some kind of waste and recycling stuff. It had been closed down since April because it was operating in a place that wasn’t zoned for that kind of operation. It can now reopen, which will allow it to clean up all the materials that have been building up since it was closed. It is reopening under a temporary arrangement, while it builds a place to move to that is zoned for it. Dr. Cardman, of the Economic Development area, is working with this business. It sounds like a very good business for our area, which has the promise of building jobs.
2. The County Budget was presented for public comments. Nobody commented. I have a comment, but I’m reserving it for its own topic. Basically, the budget is a little bit higher than last year in most categories, and it adds $36M to pay the debt for the schools. We’ll talk about this more over time, but it’s one of those topics you have to dig deeply into, and I’m still focusing on the Comprehensive Plan and the Flood Plain Ordinance right now. If anybody wants to dig into the budget, just call Carolyn at the County offices. 743-4142 Ask for a line item copy of the budget to be mailed to you under Freedom of Information. If you do analyze it, email Research@PageCountyWatch.org and let us know your thoughts. The Budget will be voted on at the June 19 Board meeting. My basic take on it is: there’s time to consider that later. If this year has an extra $36M to pay for the schools, that means the schools will be paid for in two years. So three years from now, what does the county do with all that extra money?
3. There’s some kind of internal conflict on the county’s co-ed softball team. It’s about who is allowed to play. The Supervisors are going to discuss it with the Recreation Director.
4. Henry Milkus gave a report on the Public Works Department, but I didn’t actually understand it.
5. Powell Markowitz talked about his proposal to lower the property tax on aircraft. The basic proposal is this: all the surrounding counties have tax on aircraft that is about 50 cents and ours is $2.70 (I think, I’m not sure, but its high). Powell says this causes people who have airplanes to park their planes in some other county, at some other airport. We then can not attract new planes. We only get the old planes that are depreciated already and don’t have to pay so much tax. Powell is trying to get grants from the FAA to build hangers, I think about 30 hangers. And also to expand the airport more, and add instrument landing and stuff like that. Powell says the airport is a draw for business to come to the community, and should be supported. He quoted some studies about what an airport does for a community’s business base. He is getting $10Million in FAA grants to build it, and the county loaned him about $45,000 at one point, for engineering plans for these hangers, which he needed to get the grant, and which will be paid back from these grants. So once he gets all these hangers built and the longer runway and the 30 hangers, then all the planes and the people who maintain them are jobs, plus the attraction of an airport here allows jobs. Supervisor Hoke said something about it not being right for poor people to pay their full taxes, but people who can afford airplanes get their taxes reduced. Markowitz said these planes are sometimes used for sport, but they are often used for business and to attract business, and we as a community need this airport to be a leverage for business attraction. Mr. LaFrance said he was “not opposed to taxing people who can afford airplanes.” Mr. Markowitz cited some figures about how we aren’t getting the new planes because of this, and he calculated how much tax revenue there would be if he completed his plan and got the new planes in, and he showed how there would still be the same total dollar revenue to the county as there was now, even with the reduced tax rate, if he could get the new planes in, and then there would be a draw for business and it would be a win-win. So Chairman LaFrance appointed a committee to study the issue and report back. The Committee is chaired by Supervisor Strickler, and members are Dr. Cardman, Charlie Campbell (Commissioner of Revenue), and Powell Markowitze.
6. Next was an issue about the new houses being built by the airport. The developer was thinking of putting a drainage pond at the end of the runway, and the FAA says that’s no good, and the county doesn’t really have a representative, no “dog in the fight”, as Mr. LaFrance said, and they need one. But I missed how that was resolved.
7. George Shanks suggested that the county add a probate tax, which we currently don’t have. It would generate $7,500 a year in tax revenue, I guess because people around here are so poor they don’t have much of an estate to pass on, so the probate tax wouldn’t be much. Mr. Shanks said it wouldn’t be a significant imposition, and Charlie Hoke said, “all tax is a significant imposition”. But they decided to go ahead with it. There will be a public hearing scheduled.
8. They changed the security fee you have to pay if you go to criminal and traffic court and lose. It was $5 and now it will be $10. This money goes to a fund that pays for courthouse security. You don’t pay it if you win the case.
9. There was a topic on vehicle use, but I must not have been paying attention because I didn’t write anything in my notes about that.
10. There is a National Association of County Officials conference, but nobody is going.
They then went into closed session to talk about the new County Office Building. This is a valid closed session topic, because if you are talking about contract negotiations, it isn’t sensible to do it in a public forum.
Oh, now I remember why I missed that vehicle use topic! George Shanks brought up (again, this was not on the agenda) the Vote Hiccup on the Planning Commission last time about the Flood Plain Ordinance. I’ll make a new topic to discuss that.
FLOOD PLAIN news
1. Vote Hiccup
At the June 5 Board of Supervisors work session, George Shanks brought up the Vote Hiccup at the last Planning Commission meeting. He said that Ms. Donato's "vote change" was not valid.
However, he also said that the "proposed flood plain ordinance" had not been acted on for 100 days by the Planning Commission so that document was dead as far as they were concerned, but it had no time limit as far as the Board was concerned (do not ask me how this convoluted interpretation came about, I don't know). THEN he said, the Planning Commission's motion to start up again with a NEW flood plain ordinance WAS valid, and they could do that in the Zoning Subcommittee if they wanted to! In fact, when asked, most but not all of the Supervisors said, no, no, it's in our hands, but Shanks said the Planning Commission could start all over again if they wanted to. We also asked Mr. Shanks if they could talk about items not on the agenda, and he said yes.
So the Chairman of the Zoning Subcommittee, who is Alan Eldridge, based on that motion made at the last Planning Commission, apparently has the legal right to pick up the Flood Plain Ordinance and start all over from the beginning, without putting it on the subcommittee agenda. We already established that he was not legally obligated to have minutes of the meeting. Although in April, Chairman Woodward announced that subcommittees in the future would have minutes, the subcommittee which wrote the flood plain ordinance originally (which is the zoning subcommittee) did not have minutes in the past. Page County Watch will request subcommittee minutes.
2. Zoning Subcommittee
The Zoning Subcommittee will meet today, Wednesday, June 6, at 6 p.m. at the Courthouse. The agenda topic is "home based businesses". I will not be there. If any of you can go, please let me know what happened.
3. The Donato Document.
Under the topic "The Donato Document - DRAFT" written by Planning Commissioner Dot Donato. Ms. Donato called me after the vote hiccup, and apologized for the surprise. She said she did not mean to revive the Flood Plain Ordinance. She said she meant to get community involvement in a larger issue. This document reflects the larger issue. On the surface, I agree with her concept, but I am deeply concerned that its implementation not be turned over to the Zoning Subcommittee of the Planning Commission, for all the reasons that we saw on the Flood Plain issue. Ms. Donato has asked that we review her document, and give her feedback and assess whether we will support the effort. I do appreciate her effort in getting feedback, and I hope you will go to that topic and Blog it. Press the Comments button.
4. The Retreat
The Supervisors Retreat will be on June 14 at 9 a.m. in the Montana Room at Skyland. It will probably last until 2 p.m. The Montana Room is right off the dining room, so follow the signs to the dining room. Skyland is located on Skyline Drive, so you have to pay the fee to get on the drive to get there. It's possible that if you tell them you are going to this meeting they will let you through without paying. Please let me know if you are coming. The topic is the Comprehensive Plan, which can be downloaded from the county website. It is posted under "public notices" The file is 25Mb so I can't post it. The Flood Plain Ordinance is not the topic, but it may be discussed. The key issue is all those references in the Comp Plan to the Flood Plain ordinance.
5. My notes from the June 5 Board meeting are posted on the Blog, under the label "The County's Business."
At the June 5 Board of Supervisors work session, George Shanks brought up the Vote Hiccup at the last Planning Commission meeting. He said that Ms. Donato's "vote change" was not valid.
However, he also said that the "proposed flood plain ordinance" had not been acted on for 100 days by the Planning Commission so that document was dead as far as they were concerned, but it had no time limit as far as the Board was concerned (do not ask me how this convoluted interpretation came about, I don't know). THEN he said, the Planning Commission's motion to start up again with a NEW flood plain ordinance WAS valid, and they could do that in the Zoning Subcommittee if they wanted to! In fact, when asked, most but not all of the Supervisors said, no, no, it's in our hands, but Shanks said the Planning Commission could start all over again if they wanted to. We also asked Mr. Shanks if they could talk about items not on the agenda, and he said yes.
So the Chairman of the Zoning Subcommittee, who is Alan Eldridge, based on that motion made at the last Planning Commission, apparently has the legal right to pick up the Flood Plain Ordinance and start all over from the beginning, without putting it on the subcommittee agenda. We already established that he was not legally obligated to have minutes of the meeting. Although in April, Chairman Woodward announced that subcommittees in the future would have minutes, the subcommittee which wrote the flood plain ordinance originally (which is the zoning subcommittee) did not have minutes in the past. Page County Watch will request subcommittee minutes.
2. Zoning Subcommittee
The Zoning Subcommittee will meet today, Wednesday, June 6, at 6 p.m. at the Courthouse. The agenda topic is "home based businesses". I will not be there. If any of you can go, please let me know what happened.
3. The Donato Document.
Under the topic "The Donato Document - DRAFT" written by Planning Commissioner Dot Donato. Ms. Donato called me after the vote hiccup, and apologized for the surprise. She said she did not mean to revive the Flood Plain Ordinance. She said she meant to get community involvement in a larger issue. This document reflects the larger issue. On the surface, I agree with her concept, but I am deeply concerned that its implementation not be turned over to the Zoning Subcommittee of the Planning Commission, for all the reasons that we saw on the Flood Plain issue. Ms. Donato has asked that we review her document, and give her feedback and assess whether we will support the effort. I do appreciate her effort in getting feedback, and I hope you will go to that topic and Blog it. Press the Comments button.
4. The Retreat
The Supervisors Retreat will be on June 14 at 9 a.m. in the Montana Room at Skyland. It will probably last until 2 p.m. The Montana Room is right off the dining room, so follow the signs to the dining room. Skyland is located on Skyline Drive, so you have to pay the fee to get on the drive to get there. It's possible that if you tell them you are going to this meeting they will let you through without paying. Please let me know if you are coming. The topic is the Comprehensive Plan, which can be downloaded from the county website. It is posted under "public notices" The file is 25Mb so I can't post it. The Flood Plain Ordinance is not the topic, but it may be discussed. The key issue is all those references in the Comp Plan to the Flood Plain ordinance.
5. My notes from the June 5 Board meeting are posted on the Blog, under the label "The County's Business."
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Meet the Republicans
Meet the Republicans
Before I tell you about Meeting the Republicans, I should tell you I’m a lifelong Democrat. But regardless of our party affiliation in a Democracy, we choose who we vote for one by one. That’s what I was doing when I went to the Republican meeting.
There was a very nice event at the Bridge Theater behind Brown’s Restaurant last night. The Republican candidates for local office invited the public to have a social evening, a buffet, an open bar, and listen to some campaign speeches. Each candidate for office stood up and said why they would be a good choice. It wasn’t just a night for Republicans to come. It was for any citizen who wanted to meet the candidates and know what they stood for. Republican, Democrat, or Independent, on the local level, we vote for the person, not the party. It’s a small town. You can know who’s running, and you should. When you know the person, the party won’t matter.
Every candidate had their little speech, and I have to say, every one was impressive. Maybe even endearing. Well, okay, maybe Charlie Campbell was a little on the boring side, but he’s the Commissioner of Revenue, so what can you say? So far, nobody’s come out to run against Charlie. There’s no Democrat running against him, and the deadline for Independents is June 12. My only personal experience with Charlie is that I heard him ask the Board of Supervisors to give him a person who could monitor and supervise the appraisals, so the consultants couldn’t make mistakes that were not caught. That sounded like a good thing. I also heard him ask the Board for an approval to let Internet businesses have licenses. That also sounded like a good thing. So everything I’ve seen with my own two eyes says this man is doing his job. I’m one of those “imports” so maybe I don’t know much. All I know is what I see, and so far, that’s what I see. I see Charlie Campbell as a Thumbs Up. I can be wrong. I’m reporting what I saw.
Grayson Markowitz . . . fabulous speech. The kind of speech you know he practiced for hours before he gave it. Great delivery. Excellent body language and tone. Total sincerity. If I had to sum it up, I’d say, “Grayson said, you’ve known me as a man of integrity for all these years, you’ve seen that I work hard and I’m honest and I’m fair and I’m true to my word, and I’m going to keep on being that.” Geez. What more could a person say? I know, as an “import”, that when I needed a washing machine and dryer, Grayson didn’t just put it in, he adjusted it and fiddled with it until it was just right. When my refrigerator was broken, he fixed it. When I was looking for a freezer, he discussed the merits of various options with me. I have to tell you, folks, you do not get that in the city. If you know a man who has shown over the years that he will respond when you call, he will treat you with respect, he will consider issues with a sense of integrity, and he will work for your interests . . . you can elect a man like that to anything. I almost wondered whether Grayson wanted to run for President, but the field is getting pretty crowded, what with Fred Thompson entering. So Grayson Markowitz sounded like a winner to me.
Understand, folks, I don’t know Ron Wilson, the Democratic candidate, and the incumbent. I’m just telling you that I, personally, was deeply impressed with Grayson’s presentation. I believe that in a democracy, we have to look at both or all candidates and compare them, and then make our choice. I’m only telling you what I saw last night, and I was WOWed. I absolutely want to also look at Ron Wilson’s presentation. Voters need to do that. Look at all the choices, and then decide. We’ll do that in these columns, over time. But right now, last night, I saw Grayson Markowitz and I was deeply moved. To me, this was democracy as Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. A fine man, a member of the community, with a proven record, offering to “serve” in public office.
Next. Sheriff Daniel Presgraves. I can not describe how impressed I am with that man’s record and his presentation. Sheriff Presgraves has accomplished major objectives in this county. This I know for sure. When a person does a lot, that same person comes under a lot of criticism. Since the big controversy started, I’ve been asking people to tell me what it is that Danny has done wrong. Specifically, not in general “oh, he’s a bad guy” terms. I’ve been a person who has done a lot in the past. I know what kind of criticism emerges from that. All I saw last night was a guy with a long list of achievements. Guys with long lists of achievements, do generate enemies here and there. It’s like a Law of Physics or something.
Now, there are people running against Danny, and I will also look into them, and post their presentations. But I’m telling you right now, from what I can see, Re-elect Sheriff Presgraves signs are going to be posted in my yard, and Presgraves bumper stickers are going on my car. The objective record is too clear, and the rumor record is too unsupported by detail or fact.
That doesn’t mean I’m right. It means I’m participating in the political process. And you should, too. We live in a small place. You can know these people you are electing, and you need to do that.
More. We have three Board of Supervisors up for election.
District 2. John Rust. John is the incumbent, running against Larry Sours, the Democratic candidate. I truly wish John Rust would come out and say, “I’m against the Flood Plain Ordinance.” I cannot understand why he will not. And believe me, I have asked him to do so. BUT, I’m reluctant to suggest that he is NOT against the flood plain ordinance.
Trust me, to NOT be against the flood plain ordinance would be a ‘CHECK YOU OFF’ offense, in my book.
The reason I can’t check John Rust off is because if we get to the specifics, he is against all the bad stuff, and for all the good stuff. I just can’t understand why that doesn’t translate into the simple act of stating that the proposed flood plain ordinance needs to be dropped. If he would just read the thing, that would be the conclusion. Nobody could read that document without being incensed, so we have to conclude he still hasn’t read it. This is understandable, considering how obtuse it is, but it is not really excusable, considering how critical it is.
I’m failing to check him off because I’m thinking just maybe, he doesn’t like the idea of being pressured to answer a certain way without coming to his own careful conclusion. You can’t blame a person for not wanting to be pressured into an answer. That wouldn’t be right, either. You have to start with an assumption that people are acting to their own best integrity. In truth, I think that is usually, and most often, the case. Usually, the people you are talking to are making every attempt to answer with their own best integrity. Not always. But Usually.
So John Rust is still a “Jury’s Out” with me. He won’t answer directly on the Flood Plain Ordinance. He implies, he impugns, he dances around. But he doesn’t come right out and say it. So I can’t answer directly on him.
I can tell you that Larry Sours doesn’t have any problem saying “the flood plain ordinance is a bunch of silliness that should not be taking up all this time”
But maybe John is just a careful thinker and careful actor. That happens. We’ll see on June 14, at the Retreat. Residents of District 2 . . . I’ll tell you as soon as I know.
District 3. J D Cave. J D is not the incumbent. Charles Ballard is the incumbent, but he has taken ill, and can not continue his duties. J D was formerly the radio personality on the Friday morning SpeakOut. J D stood up and said he would always tell the truth, and he had expectations for himself and his constituents. A fine speech. A solid entry. And, most importantly to me, J D is against the flood plain ordinance. That was tongue in cheek, actually. It is most importantly to me, but it is also important that he present as a person who cares about the people in the county and will represent their interests. This all seems solid and stable and good to me. J D presents as and appears to be a good man, a solid candidate, and a fine representative. J D is running against Jim Turner, an Independent. Jim Turner is also a good candidate. Jim Turner is also against the flood plain ordinance. And where I live, that’s what counts. So this would be a real toss up. Luckily, I don’t live in District 3, so I will never have to make that choice.
District 4. Gerald Cubbage. Gerald Cubbage seems to me to be the quintessential local farmer. The man who represents Page County’s roots. As much as Gerald Cubbage is the standard of the “home boy”, I am the standard of the “import”. I am the Boomer who has come here to retire. Gerald is the farmer who represents generations of locals. Yet, we have a lot in common. Even though I only have a little plot of land to build my house, I brought my children here to that little plot, for twenty years. My boys grew up here. Their weekends were spent on this river. And when they grew up and left home, my husband and I decided it would be best for us to move here, so that our children could bring their children to the place they remembered growing up. It is these family values that Gerald Cubbage and I share. We both delight in our families and their relationship with the land. My land happens to include the river. Gerald’s land is far more extensive than mine. But he can see the tie. So he has no trouble saying, “let these people live their lives, and butt out” Gerald had no trouble saying that he saw the flood plain issue as one of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Are you tired of hearing about the Flood Plain yet? Think of it this way. It’s home. If someone threatened your home, you would be as passionate to chase them away, too. Our point is: this is like the Germans and the Jews. If you stand by and let someone threaten our homes today, it will be your homes tomorrow. So far, Gerald Cubbage, and J D Cave, on the Republican side, have clearly declared that they will not take our homes.
John Rust, Charlie Hoke, Carol Lee Strickler, and Tommy LaFrance have not made that declaration.
If you press them, they will say they would never do such a thing.
So why won’t they end the Flood Plain Ordinance change now? It has nothing else in it, as it stands. What “good parts” are they waiting to uncover? Why don’t they just read it and end the pain?
One cannot hide behind a process, when the homes of constituents have been threatened.
Stay tuned to Page County Watch for more on the elections and their process. AND. . .
Go ahead and BLOG by pushing the Comments button.
Before I tell you about Meeting the Republicans, I should tell you I’m a lifelong Democrat. But regardless of our party affiliation in a Democracy, we choose who we vote for one by one. That’s what I was doing when I went to the Republican meeting.
There was a very nice event at the Bridge Theater behind Brown’s Restaurant last night. The Republican candidates for local office invited the public to have a social evening, a buffet, an open bar, and listen to some campaign speeches. Each candidate for office stood up and said why they would be a good choice. It wasn’t just a night for Republicans to come. It was for any citizen who wanted to meet the candidates and know what they stood for. Republican, Democrat, or Independent, on the local level, we vote for the person, not the party. It’s a small town. You can know who’s running, and you should. When you know the person, the party won’t matter.
Every candidate had their little speech, and I have to say, every one was impressive. Maybe even endearing. Well, okay, maybe Charlie Campbell was a little on the boring side, but he’s the Commissioner of Revenue, so what can you say? So far, nobody’s come out to run against Charlie. There’s no Democrat running against him, and the deadline for Independents is June 12. My only personal experience with Charlie is that I heard him ask the Board of Supervisors to give him a person who could monitor and supervise the appraisals, so the consultants couldn’t make mistakes that were not caught. That sounded like a good thing. I also heard him ask the Board for an approval to let Internet businesses have licenses. That also sounded like a good thing. So everything I’ve seen with my own two eyes says this man is doing his job. I’m one of those “imports” so maybe I don’t know much. All I know is what I see, and so far, that’s what I see. I see Charlie Campbell as a Thumbs Up. I can be wrong. I’m reporting what I saw.
Grayson Markowitz . . . fabulous speech. The kind of speech you know he practiced for hours before he gave it. Great delivery. Excellent body language and tone. Total sincerity. If I had to sum it up, I’d say, “Grayson said, you’ve known me as a man of integrity for all these years, you’ve seen that I work hard and I’m honest and I’m fair and I’m true to my word, and I’m going to keep on being that.” Geez. What more could a person say? I know, as an “import”, that when I needed a washing machine and dryer, Grayson didn’t just put it in, he adjusted it and fiddled with it until it was just right. When my refrigerator was broken, he fixed it. When I was looking for a freezer, he discussed the merits of various options with me. I have to tell you, folks, you do not get that in the city. If you know a man who has shown over the years that he will respond when you call, he will treat you with respect, he will consider issues with a sense of integrity, and he will work for your interests . . . you can elect a man like that to anything. I almost wondered whether Grayson wanted to run for President, but the field is getting pretty crowded, what with Fred Thompson entering. So Grayson Markowitz sounded like a winner to me.
Understand, folks, I don’t know Ron Wilson, the Democratic candidate, and the incumbent. I’m just telling you that I, personally, was deeply impressed with Grayson’s presentation. I believe that in a democracy, we have to look at both or all candidates and compare them, and then make our choice. I’m only telling you what I saw last night, and I was WOWed. I absolutely want to also look at Ron Wilson’s presentation. Voters need to do that. Look at all the choices, and then decide. We’ll do that in these columns, over time. But right now, last night, I saw Grayson Markowitz and I was deeply moved. To me, this was democracy as Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. A fine man, a member of the community, with a proven record, offering to “serve” in public office.
Next. Sheriff Daniel Presgraves. I can not describe how impressed I am with that man’s record and his presentation. Sheriff Presgraves has accomplished major objectives in this county. This I know for sure. When a person does a lot, that same person comes under a lot of criticism. Since the big controversy started, I’ve been asking people to tell me what it is that Danny has done wrong. Specifically, not in general “oh, he’s a bad guy” terms. I’ve been a person who has done a lot in the past. I know what kind of criticism emerges from that. All I saw last night was a guy with a long list of achievements. Guys with long lists of achievements, do generate enemies here and there. It’s like a Law of Physics or something.
Now, there are people running against Danny, and I will also look into them, and post their presentations. But I’m telling you right now, from what I can see, Re-elect Sheriff Presgraves signs are going to be posted in my yard, and Presgraves bumper stickers are going on my car. The objective record is too clear, and the rumor record is too unsupported by detail or fact.
That doesn’t mean I’m right. It means I’m participating in the political process. And you should, too. We live in a small place. You can know these people you are electing, and you need to do that.
More. We have three Board of Supervisors up for election.
District 2. John Rust. John is the incumbent, running against Larry Sours, the Democratic candidate. I truly wish John Rust would come out and say, “I’m against the Flood Plain Ordinance.” I cannot understand why he will not. And believe me, I have asked him to do so. BUT, I’m reluctant to suggest that he is NOT against the flood plain ordinance.
Trust me, to NOT be against the flood plain ordinance would be a ‘CHECK YOU OFF’ offense, in my book.
The reason I can’t check John Rust off is because if we get to the specifics, he is against all the bad stuff, and for all the good stuff. I just can’t understand why that doesn’t translate into the simple act of stating that the proposed flood plain ordinance needs to be dropped. If he would just read the thing, that would be the conclusion. Nobody could read that document without being incensed, so we have to conclude he still hasn’t read it. This is understandable, considering how obtuse it is, but it is not really excusable, considering how critical it is.
I’m failing to check him off because I’m thinking just maybe, he doesn’t like the idea of being pressured to answer a certain way without coming to his own careful conclusion. You can’t blame a person for not wanting to be pressured into an answer. That wouldn’t be right, either. You have to start with an assumption that people are acting to their own best integrity. In truth, I think that is usually, and most often, the case. Usually, the people you are talking to are making every attempt to answer with their own best integrity. Not always. But Usually.
So John Rust is still a “Jury’s Out” with me. He won’t answer directly on the Flood Plain Ordinance. He implies, he impugns, he dances around. But he doesn’t come right out and say it. So I can’t answer directly on him.
I can tell you that Larry Sours doesn’t have any problem saying “the flood plain ordinance is a bunch of silliness that should not be taking up all this time”
But maybe John is just a careful thinker and careful actor. That happens. We’ll see on June 14, at the Retreat. Residents of District 2 . . . I’ll tell you as soon as I know.
District 3. J D Cave. J D is not the incumbent. Charles Ballard is the incumbent, but he has taken ill, and can not continue his duties. J D was formerly the radio personality on the Friday morning SpeakOut. J D stood up and said he would always tell the truth, and he had expectations for himself and his constituents. A fine speech. A solid entry. And, most importantly to me, J D is against the flood plain ordinance. That was tongue in cheek, actually. It is most importantly to me, but it is also important that he present as a person who cares about the people in the county and will represent their interests. This all seems solid and stable and good to me. J D presents as and appears to be a good man, a solid candidate, and a fine representative. J D is running against Jim Turner, an Independent. Jim Turner is also a good candidate. Jim Turner is also against the flood plain ordinance. And where I live, that’s what counts. So this would be a real toss up. Luckily, I don’t live in District 3, so I will never have to make that choice.
District 4. Gerald Cubbage. Gerald Cubbage seems to me to be the quintessential local farmer. The man who represents Page County’s roots. As much as Gerald Cubbage is the standard of the “home boy”, I am the standard of the “import”. I am the Boomer who has come here to retire. Gerald is the farmer who represents generations of locals. Yet, we have a lot in common. Even though I only have a little plot of land to build my house, I brought my children here to that little plot, for twenty years. My boys grew up here. Their weekends were spent on this river. And when they grew up and left home, my husband and I decided it would be best for us to move here, so that our children could bring their children to the place they remembered growing up. It is these family values that Gerald Cubbage and I share. We both delight in our families and their relationship with the land. My land happens to include the river. Gerald’s land is far more extensive than mine. But he can see the tie. So he has no trouble saying, “let these people live their lives, and butt out” Gerald had no trouble saying that he saw the flood plain issue as one of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Are you tired of hearing about the Flood Plain yet? Think of it this way. It’s home. If someone threatened your home, you would be as passionate to chase them away, too. Our point is: this is like the Germans and the Jews. If you stand by and let someone threaten our homes today, it will be your homes tomorrow. So far, Gerald Cubbage, and J D Cave, on the Republican side, have clearly declared that they will not take our homes.
John Rust, Charlie Hoke, Carol Lee Strickler, and Tommy LaFrance have not made that declaration.
If you press them, they will say they would never do such a thing.
So why won’t they end the Flood Plain Ordinance change now? It has nothing else in it, as it stands. What “good parts” are they waiting to uncover? Why don’t they just read it and end the pain?
One cannot hide behind a process, when the homes of constituents have been threatened.
Stay tuned to Page County Watch for more on the elections and their process. AND. . .
Go ahead and BLOG by pushing the Comments button.
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