The map and textual content for this post has been removed by the editor due to the request of a commentor who contends that it is unfair to post maps showing property owned by city or county officials. I have retained the comments, however.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
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16 comments:
I'm not sure why this was posted or allowed to be posted. This looks like a personal smear campaign as opposed to a civil discussion about local issues. What is the point that Summer is trying to convey. So the Struck's own property.....big deal. If you go to the website you see pics of Salmon Run and Wyers End.....so what! You are inferring something here so why not come out and say it? You don't have to identify yourself.....just state your case and have the facts to back up your position. Are you afraid you will slander someone because you don't know what you are talking about?
Beatledawg
I did not do the original post, but am aware the Struck family owns lots of property in Husum/BZ and seems like someone with Struck as a last name is a realtor listing lots and lots of property out there, must have many contacts. So it seems there is lots of connection to this area that also happens to be under review for rezoning.
This is a small county and you have to live and work somewhere and there are only a limited number of folks willing to step up and do public service through local politics.
The concern is being transparent and willing to be accountable about what your private interests are when you are an elected official. I can imagine it would be an ethical challenge to seperate it all out. I am glad the option to recuse from final votes was excersised, however, the discussions before hand, the devleopment of the plan itself at the Husum council level is all part of working from the inside, and needs to be considered from the stand point of private interests.
At least you expounded and gave some reasoning....but I think it's fair to add that a lot of that land is not due to be rezoned even if the plan is modified plus the Struck's have owned the property long before there was any rezoning discussions. This Husum/BZ plan has been in need of review for 6 or 7 years, if I am not mistaken! People are making it sound like this just happened overnight. I just hate it when people throw something out there like Summer did and act like we are all going to understand the meaning. The reason you see listings of lots in Husum is that they own the golf course and are selling golf course lots! What is so alarmist about that? It is my understanding that in the past 6 years very few "concerned citizens" ever showed up at any of the Husum/BZ council meetings. I would like to hear one instance where Commissioner Struck has not been transparent about his interests in Husum.......but no one ever seems to state an example....all I have heard on this board is inuendo and fear mongering!
Beatledawg
I think Summer was posting the map because it was submitted by someone just like comments are submitted.
Is it a smear campaign? Only the person wanting it posted knows. However, my opinion is that it isn't useful - we know the Strucks own property in the Husum area and it is also common for people holding office to own property in the county.
It is also common for a county to review the zoning for future planning. If they didn't, there wouldn't be space for growth.
However, in the case of BZ Corner and Husum, but particularly BZ Corner, there is a definite need of a community water/sewer system before they can downzone to smaller lots. Right now, you may have a neighbor well within that 100 feet of your septic drainfield. Infrastructure needs to be addressed in any rezoning for these areas.
Squeekywheel said
"I think Summer was posting the map because it was submitted by someone just like comments are submitted.
Is it a smear campaign? Only the person wanting it posted knows."
Squeekywheel........come on.......when you single out a person by name and post their real estate holdings......what do you think the reasoning behind that was? If Summer is a moderator and allowed that post then she was wrong.
You know.....I am by most standards a very liberal thinker.........and probably don't vote the same party line as the people I am defending........but one thing I know......right is right and wrong is wrong. The moderators here have the option/obligation of filtering out posts that come directly to them if they are inappropriate, but in this case chose not to do so because it suits their own interests and point of views. This place is looking more like FOX news every day! Fair and balanced? I don't think so! Maybe my expectations for this blog are too high.
It is making me suspicious that certain people opposed to the Husum/BZ plan either don't know the facts or they know them and realize that the plan may not be as bad as they originally thought. You know what? I don't know all the facts of the rezoning plan, but you sure as hell can't learn them here wilh all the rhetoric being posted. Wouldn't you like to know the facts? I certainly would!
Beatledawg
The facts should speak and be noted, (in part): the slanted impression by the map highlighted: out of one-640 acre section highlighted; a single 50ft. by 100ft. city lot is actually owned by Struck. Fair & balanced . . . i think not!
Thank you for removing this post....All I want is for everyone here to discuss these topics in a positive way!
Beatledawg
I agree accurate info is important.
Can someone list the people on the Husum/BZ council who developed the plan and rezone?
How much property do they own in the area?
What are thier professions; realtor, developer, contractors, road builders?
We could simply ask people like Mr. Struck, to outline thier properties, and proefessions.
OR, you can go to the Klickitat Co. website Tax Assessor page, lots of info there. (Click "Parcel Info On Line", click the map to zero into the geographic area of interest, on the right side click "on" and "active" for parcels, and on the left side the big "I" for identify. You will see property owner name name and parcel size plus other info...)
Let's do our research to really understand if there is some conflict of interest. I spent, about 15 mintues clicking around this site, and yes, there is quite a bit of land there owned by Struck.
If the majority of persons who made the plan or are deciding the plan, then that group of people will have to work very hard to demonstrate this will not have a negative impact on the rest of us. I would like to see outside studies on the impact on the environment, schools, traffic and other quality of life factors, information about long term resources such as water, and coordination efforts with state/fed agencies like Fish and Wildlife and Scenic River Act etc. Sorry folks, but this is how the real world works. Slow it down, there is too much at stake.
Why limit it to Husum/BZ, let's take a look all the way to Trout Lake since it borders the White Salmon River as well. There has been a lot of development there in the last few years and I am sure some rezoning has been requested. Has there been any rezoning along the White Salmon River that could be a cause for concern as well?
Beatledawg
Struck removed himself from the discussions of the Husum/BZ Plan because the lawyers told him he had to because he had a conflict of interest. He did not specify in his interview in the Enterprise just what the conflict of interest is, but I think it must be his real estate interests. He is involved in a big development called the Lyons project up Rattlesnake Road from Husum.
What land he owns may or may not be relevant, but I think the public has a right to know what the conflict of interest is.
Anon. 9/11:
When an elected or appointed official recuses themself from a public hearing because of a possible conflict of interests, she/he is required to state the reason into the hearing's record. Just because the newspaper didn't include that info in a lengthy interview covering numerous topics has no bearing on the hearing or the reasoning behind your statement. Why not give Don a call and ask him? Or if you're not comfortable with that, wait for the hearing's transcript/minutes or call either the Planning Dept. or Prosecuting Atty's office. All you have to do is ask...
Well, I am a little afraid of calling Don and possible retaliation. So if someone does call him, please post his response about why he recused himself. Also, please ask if he participated in the comprehensive plan process with the BZ/Husum Community Council.
I called Don Struck and he recused himself because he owns property in the planning district, as was stated in the interview and in the newspaper article released today.
from The Onion - a good reminder of the importance of researching the facts...
"Town Hall Meeting Gives Townspeople Chance To Say Stupid Things In Public
September 8, 2007
NEW BEDFORD, MA—In a true display of democracy, a town hall meeting held at the New Bedford High School auditorium Monday gave the crowd of approximately 550 residents the opportunity to publicly voice every last one of the inane thoughts and concerns they would normally only have the chance to utter to themselves.
New Bedford citizens again mistakenly thinking they can directly participate in City Council votes.
Though the meeting was ostensibly held to discuss a proposed $21,000 project to replace the high school's grass football field with synthetic turf, City Councilman Thomas Reed inadvertently opened the floodgates to a deluge of ill-informed, off-topic diatribes on inconsequential bullshit when he allowed those in attendance to demonstrate their God-given gift of language.
"I don't want to have some kid's torn ACL or ALS or whatever on my conscience," said 42-year-old contractor Tom Wareheim, who had apparently not heard the portion of Councilman Reed's opening remarks just moments before explaining that the risk of injury on grass and turf is virtually the same. "I also heard somewhere, I think from my cousin, that the fibers in that stuff can cause cancer."
Citizens quickly lined up at the podium to exercise their freedom of speech—for which countless Americans have died—to publicly drone on and on about everything from the root causes of the football team's poor performance last year to whether high school students should be playing sports at all.
"Now, I don't know much about this turf stuff, but you all know me and you know what kind of business I run," said hardware store owner Dan Schilling, 54, seizing the opportunity to hear his voice echo pointlessly off the auditorium walls. "I've been saying this to my wife for years, and she agrees with me: The garbage trucks in this town are way too loud and I came here tonight to see what's being done about it."
Schilling's grievance instilled an undeserved sense of confidence in the rest of the crowd, emboldening others to abandon the practice of forming cogent thoughts and instead allow streams of mind-numbing nonsense to spill ceaselessly from their lips.
"Who's going to fix the roads?" said 49-year-old Gordon Winters, a bona fide, class-A moron. "Do I have to fix the roads myself, or is somebody going to fix the roads? What's it gonna be? Fixed roads? Or not-fixed roads?"
After an awkward, 15-second period of silence, Winters thankfully moved away from the podium, only to be replaced by 32-year-old Laurel Hale, who seemed eager to prove to every citizen of New Bedford that she had the brainpower of an autistic dog.
"I'm just going to say one thing because I don't want to take up too much of anyone's time," said Hale as her 6-month-old daughter pawed at the microphone. Hale then somehow managed to link the synthetic-turf issue to the lack of places to sit in public areas, her inability to get the buttons at the crosswalk to work, and the apparent overabundance of cable television channels.
Added Hale: "Also, Councilman Reed, you need to get us out of Iraq. Now."
Over the course of the six-and-a-half-hour meeting, the only variation on the endless monotony of inconsequential concerns was the occasional tone of entitlement.
"This town used to be so different," said 67-year-old Doris Miller, as if she were starring in a film in which one person's impassioned speech is so powerful that it leaves the rest of the audience in stunned silence. "Kids are different. Adults are different. People. People are different. What happened? How do we get back to the way things were? How, Councilman Reed?"
"I fought in Korea, and by God I would do it again," said 76-year-old Ronald Schroyer, who immediately retook his seat.
With no conclusions reached about why the town has no zoo, which restaurant serves the best pizza, or what to do with the football field, Councilman Reed opted not to shoot himself and let his brains spray over the crowd, instead adjourning the meeting and thanking everyone who had taken the time to speak."
Ok, not sure what the point of the last commnet is. Can someone please list the names of persons on the Husum/BZ council? Was it the community council that developed the original plan? I have checked the Klickitat Co. website and cannot find where the community councils and elected officers of the councils are listed. thanks.
Early Riser,
From a blog story posted August 12:
Husum/BZ Council:
Jerry Smith, 493-1934. Chairman. PO Box 221, Husum, WA 98623
Bill Anderson, 493-3022.
Billy Gross, 493-4970.George Mersereau, 493-2590.
Jim Fritchey, 493-3175.
Kenny Burrill ,493-2240
John Riggleman, 493-1527
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