The election is over and it’s a new year. As expected, local offices were filled by those sanctified by the Republican primary. Fortunately for us those elected seem to have the experience and qualifications to do their job.
However, with the addition of the new member I have some concern about the county commissioners. Will the commissioners now be tilted too far to the right (is that possible)? That scenario is possible. However, generally speaking, elected officials securing management positions, like county commissioner, find themselves faced with a difficult job. They find a diverse public wanting action on their particular, often short-term objectives. Additionally, they receive unbalanced pressure from their friends and church members who sometimes have unreasonable expectations.
Will the new board rise above the fray? I certainly hope so because the negative pressures on this county such as increased population, environmental damage, reduced funding and deteriorating infrastructure are bound to get much worse. We don’t need to be worrying about “if the county has jurisdiction over roads on federal land.” (No, it doesn’t.) Nor do we want to take over Forest Service responsibilities like the McPhee Marina. The USFS really has done a lousy job. We need to demand a much better performance. I don’t have all the facts, however, I would like to see the commissioners tell us how we are going to deal with some more obvious items.
After Kinder Morgan is finished trashing the place and reduces its tax payments, how do we make up the difference? Our roads need to be vastly improved. I believe our major access roads need to be paved beyond chip seal. No more strip mining, especially along the Dolores River. Establish a “parks and recreation” program. We need trails along our roads so we can walk, bike or horse to town without getting killed. Speaking of government overreaching, allow the world’s best farmers to grow marijuana. If TDRs are problematic for the river think of something better.
Butch Wilson
Cortez