3-2 split still a concern

Editor:

Having authored a few critiques of county management, it's time to offer credit where credit is due.

County Manager Michael Brown is tackling ticklish and imposing county issues one by one head-on and openly, particularly budget balancing issues, and with clarity and candor satisfying the transparency issue many of us have harped on in the past.

And while many county commissioners past and present have so often left the public completely confused by their comments or lack thereof and then their votes on issues of major importance, sometimes giving the impression of backroom deals in violation of open meeting laws, new commissioner Greg Lynn is setting a new standard of piercing and thorough questioning of applicants and opponents, leaving the public in attendance little doubt as to his reasoning regardless of the side he takes, and usually adding to the public's understanding of the subject.

That said, as other commentaries have noted, there is a clear 3-2 balance on the county commission favoring development in any form, handing out code variances as if any development is a good development. Chairman McDermid makes little effort to hide her impatience with opposition to her preferences on any project before the commission, and now has imposed new standards of "decorum" to further throttle public effort to gain information in commission meetings. And of the minority of two, one often appears like a straw bending with a wind that defies logic. His initial crucial support three years ago of the $24.7 million Riverwood projects in north county and open rejections of opposition remain unexplained and may haunt the county for years to come.

In this day when taxpayers bemoan lack of transparency in how federal officials obligate future taxpayers with wildly uncontrolled distribution of bailout and stimulus funds, more transparent logic explaining county commissioner medium-to-long-term visions for Carson Valley and how projects before the commission fit into those visions would surely be appreciated by many.

So far little vision and effort has gone into leveraging the natural beauty and resources of this exceptional Sierra river valley and surrounding mountains, instead focusing on low-wage blue collar industrial development which can only turn the tourist industry away instead of attracting it.

Jack Van Dien

Gardnerville