For what it's worth....

COUNTY AND CITY GOVERNMENT THOUGHTS

Last week’s Lincoln County Commission meeting was nothing short of ugly.

Commissioners – with two exceptions – were ugly to the people in attendance. The people in attendance were ugly to both the commissioners and the people who didn’t share their opinion. The whole scene was ugly and bordered on a riot at any moment.

And through the constant ugliness, the voice of the people were more than clear:

Scrap the thoroughfare overlay districts.

First, kudos to Commissioner Carrol Mitchem for having the guts to speak his mind at the beginning of last week’s public lynching…I mean, hearing. Yes, he was one of many people sent one of those little cards inviting his input. And Carrol was more than obliged to give his opinion, which happened to be the opinion of the people.

Next, a big “high five” goes to Commissioner George Arena for not losing his cool at the end of the public hearing when he was shouted down by several audience members. While he looked like he was ready to cry, he kept his cool in an otherwise intense situation.

Commissioner Jim Klein, meantime, sat motionless during the whole public hearing. Did I see Commissioner Alex Patton poke him with a coat hanger at some point to see if there were any signs of life? I thought someone from the audience held a mirror under Klein’s nose to see if he was breathing.

Usually very cool and laid-back, Commissioner Alex Patton let the meeting deteriorate rather quickly. At one point, Patton threatened to “call the law” and have people “escorted out” if they didn’t settle down. Later in the meeting, Patton threatened to “clear the hall” if things didn’t settle down.

I would have loved to see that. More than 600 people versus the county commission chairman. Can anyone say “NWA Wrestling?”

And the snide, smart-aleck “outlaw” Commissioner Bruce Carlton assumed his “I know more than you do” persona during the entire public hearing, even walking out when Carrol Mitchem got up to speak. I’m glad this guy’s not planning on going back on his promise of being a one-term commissioner.

Don’t worry, Bruce. If you do run again, I’m sure the voters will send you a clear message: they don’t want you in county government for another four years.

But I digress.

Emotions ran high during the meeting because, in essence, county commissioners wanted to use imminent domain to take 500 feet on either side of a major thoroughfare for development purposes. In many cases, taking 500 feet would take someone’s entire property, residence and/or business.

Like one member of the public said, “it’s like imminent domain.”
I really liked what another speaker had to say about equating thoroughfare overlay districts.

“Sodomy is illegal, right? And what you guys are trying to do here is illegal. So what you guys are trying to do is sodomy, and it’s illegal.”

Well said. I wonder if Hallmark has a greeting card for that one.

Despite the numerous calls from Commissioner Mitchem and the crowd to “ditch” or “throw away” thoroughfare overlays, commissioners decided to send the document back to the planning board to make changes, including removing the major highways mentioned in the document.

One speaker had a very interesting question, however, regarding the highways listed in the document?

Where was Highway 321?

Indeed, the biggest four-lane highway running through Lincoln County wasn’t even mentioned in the list. And a couple of speakers pointed out the thoroughfare overlays weren’t going to reach their properties…. Yet.

Stay tuned for more…..

On another note, I was rather disappointed in the number of Lincolnton residents who turned out for the recent budget workshops.

After truthfully uncovering what was going on in the “Ivory Tower,” Lincolnton City Hall, I tried to rally residents to attend the open workshops to see where your tax dollars were going.

I also told you that city officials were considering raising water/sewer rates by some ungodly number because of the city’s “poor” financial condition.

I hate to say “I told you so,” but I TOLD YOU SO.

A total of five residents showed up for a couple of hours on Friday, while one showed up on Saturday and Sunday.

The dismal showing was nothing short of pathetic. The city employees were counting on the residents’ support. I was counting on my fellow residents to rally in support.

What do you think happened? There were a lot of empty chairs.

The residents of Lincolnton deserve everything we get in the upcoming fiscal year. Higher water/sewer rates (which take effect in April), as well as higher electric rates and taxes.

There’s no room to complain now. Don’t get mad at me, either, for pointing out the TRUTH. The apathy of Lincolnton residents came through loud and clear.

We deserve everything we get from this point forward.

I await your responses, which include name and town, name and town, name and town to mayhew.jon@gmail.com.