Guest Opinion: The other side of the skate board park

In a recent Monitor County Corner column (April, 17), Robert Gibson, vice-chair of the county council (CC) described his view of county government as both “owner” and “regulator” of county projects. Then he claims “as owner, the county decides where we want a project, how much we are willing to pay for it, and where it should be.” The CC sets themselves up as both judge and jury, switching back and forth to their advantage. Our simple understanding is that the CC and county staff (CS) do not “own” county property any more then any other county citizen. And, CC needs to go through the same processes with the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC), who are the “watch dog” of the Comprehensive Plan, as any other citizen. The CC can not substantially change the Comprehensive Plan without a PZC hearing, or it is not following the proper procedure. Have CC and CS followed the standard procedures in the skate board park (SBP) project? We think not. First, the county took the SBP away from the citizen Parks and Recreation Board and the Parks Department, and asked the police chief to run the project. The chief worked only with the SBP kids and their supporters.

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