TABLA RASA

Now I/d like to hear what is on your mind.

Who pulled the plug?

Actually it is Tabula Rasa or erased slate

Tabula Rasa implies a totally new perspective free from the influence of previous experience or prejudice. Not a bad idea now and then.

With the exception of dropping the Road-Kill Cook-Off, Freeholder has excellent ideas. Unfortunately, this County lacks any mechanism for turning good ideas into action.

The County Commission seems powerless to act on a wide range of issues. They each have good ideas but no way to make those ideas a reality.

Recall, if you will, recent debates on any major issue: Marcellus shale, industrial wind development, dog ordinance, planning or zoning, a county manager, economic development or illegal use of drugs. These are all extremely important to our future. Many citizens have been involved in these discussions.
But nothing has been done. No action has been taken.

Only on the SnowShoe sewer system has there been solid, consistent and effective County leadership.

Why a half dozen failures and only one success?

Because there is no mechanism in this County for developing a consensus on any issue. There is no place or forum where people who are concerned about an issue can meet, disagree, discuss and develop alternatives for the Commission to consider. No group that is tasked to work toward a consensus to act.
Many local governments set up ‘Citizens’ Advisory Boards’ for that purpose. Advisory boards are made up of volunteers from the County who are interested enough in an issue to attend meetings. Those meetings are open to every County resident.

The goal of an informal advisory board is to work toward consensus and develop a recommendation, or set of recommendations, which represent the full range of views on the issue. This is a democracy. Anyone who cares enough to participate in these meetings will have a voice in the outcome. Anyone who refuses to participate gives up their right to criticize the result. Advisory board recommendations are presented to the County Commission for official consideration and action.

A lovely word -- Action.

The way things are now, the County Commission cannot act because it never seems to have adequate support on any issue. There always seems to be a loud, negative voice to derail progress. And that voice drowns out a chorus of concerned citizens who want action.

This County has many talented individuals who could be called on to make Citizens’ Advisory Boards work. Here is one suggestion that has no downside. What can the County Commission lose? If advisory boards succeed, the Commission can get off the dime on a number of critical issues. If they fail, we are no worse off than we are now.

As a test case, at its next meeting the County Commission can call for citizens to volunteer to be part of an Industrial Wind Citizens' Advisory Board. Commissioners can task that Advisory Board with meeting citizens in different parts of the county and developing a recommendation which the County Commission can turn into action.

Action by the County Commission. Effective action. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

-- Rich

Let me respond to:
"Recall, if you will, recent debates on any major issue: Marcellus shale, industrial wind development, dog ordinance, planning or zoning, a county manager, economic development or illegal use of drugs. These are all extremely important to our future. Many citizens have been involved in these discussions.
But nothing has been done. No action has been taken."

1. The Commission has engaged the issue of Marcellus Shale and has held meetings to educate itself and the public on this issue and is working on ways to formally address the matter.
2. The wind issue occurred in Virginia. The Commission asked the Governor to re-establish the boundary commission.
3. The Commission did pass a dog ordinance and has established an animal shelter.
4. The Commission felt after public debate and dialogue that the county was not willing to embrace planning and zoning. The Commission adopted the idea that it is better to do than to plan to do....thus the One Room University.
5. Jay Miller has served a year and one half as the un-paid full time County Coordinator and has devoted countless hours to making the One Room University a reality.
6. The Commission leased the Hanover Building for economic development. The Commission urges Frontier to be bold in internet investment as an economic engine. The Commission leased the original property in Green Bank to Jacob Meck and is trying to reconcile community issues about further expansion there.
7. The Commission enacted a drug policy at the Court House to take a position of leadership on this critical problem. The Commission started the Community Corrections program. The Commission pays an enormous bill for crime related problems and costs associated with jail.

Action has been taken on all these concerns. The problem is it's a long long time to get readable results.

In terms of accomplishments: Dont forget the Durbin, Frank, Bartow water project that is the result of the work of cooperative efforts of Rita, David, and Martin, WD Smith of Region 4, Mark Smith, Amon Tracy, Tom Shipley, Ricky and Cindy Barkley, and former chairman Mr. Rexrode.

Preliminary information is that we are going to have the ability to deliver a better quality product, much more consistently especially during droughts, with significantly less electrical and chemical consumption.

That is the result of citizen concerns, recognized and dealt with by the community and its leadership to achieve a tangible improvement in the quality of life.

I hope this statement doesn't jinx our good fortune so far. Lets hope we continue to find and deal successfully with those pesky leaks that have been consuming so much good efforts in the past.

Norman--
Kindly explain why people think that public "zoning" infringes on their rights but that greedy, unregulated private corporations do not.

Zoning is sets into law what you want to do with your land. And helps assure that somebody doesn't move in next door and destroy your land. That is what zoning is does.

The first step in zoning is to ask individual landowners what they want to do with their land. Do you want a farm or an industrial site? Do you want a forest or a subdivision?

If you won't want your land developed for housing or industry, your real estate taxes go down. If you want to keep that option open, your taxes go up.

It really is that simple.

Developers hide behind the banner of 'liberty' and spend billions (literally billions) to convince people that zoning is bad. Why? Because it limits the ability of a private corporation to poison your water, contaminate your food, destroy your sleep and ruin your view. That's is also why all the "conservative" talk shows oppose zoning. Talk-show hosts are paid a fortune to spout the views of a handful of ultra-rich exploiters like the gas industry. The opinions they express are whatever they are paid to express. They are intellectual prostitutes.

Money talks. When's the last time you listened to a syndicated talk show devoted to the interests of the poor,? The underemployed. The rural farmer or the working stiff? No, of course those interests are never aired by the media because those good people don't have the money to buy the "opinions" of toadies on Rush or Fox.

Most horror stories the media spreads about zoning have nothing to do with zoning. Stories about how people are not allowed to paint their homes the way they want, or plant a garden in their back yard, or let their land grow wildflowers -- those stories are used by the right-wing media shills to discredit zoning. What they fail to mention is that most horror stories came from private homeowner associations that tell homeowners what to do and how to do it. Private corporations that can throw you out of your own home for letting your grass grow too tall.

The only thing -- the only thing -- that protects our private property rights from being trampled by huge economic interests is government regulation. Without it, the U.S. would be like Haiti where anyone with money can do anything they want to whoever they want. As John posted a few days ago, the legal system in this country is no longer a place of justice. It is a place of procedure. Whoever has the most expensive lawyers owns the legal process. Am I wrong?

Do you, Norman, have enough money to win a law suit against a billion-dollar gas company when it pollutes your water supply? Under the state's current regulatory fig leaf, your water will probably be contaminated. When that happens, you may look back and think: "Gosh, maybe if we had a County development plan... maybe if I hadn't been so close-minded on zoning... maybe if I knew that zoning was the only way I could protect my land, my family might be able to drink the water."

Kindly think about it. -- Rich