Who runs Pulaski County?
Silly question. It ain't the people.
Here's a tale of a meeting set tomorrow in which attorneys for major landowners in the Lake Maumelle watershed -- Deltic Timber and Waterview Estates -- were to sit down with County Attorney Karla Burnett and Central Arkansas Water about a county land use ordinance covering the part of the watershed in the county. The private attorneys have already had huge and mostly secret influence on the writing of the proposasl.
A citizens group established to protect the watershed said it wanted to attend the meeting and watch the process. It doesn't want to be blindsided by an ordinance overly protective of one group of landowners. That did it. Karla Burnett sent an e-mail this afternoon saying the meeting was cancelled. Allow the public to watch development of an ordinance affecting every water drinker in the county? You might as well ask Karla Burnett to see Ron Quillin's e-mail.
For later: Does a state environmental commissioner who participated in discussion of a CAW proposal to limit sewage discharges into streams feeding Lake Maumelle have an interest in property affected by the proposal? It would be par for the course.
Comments
I think excluding the public from the business of the public is standard operating procedure these days.
Maybe a bit off topic, but I called the Arkansas AG's office yesterday about a consumer complaint I'd sent in weeks ago that never got so much as an automated response. When I asked for a supervisor's email (I asked for him by name, as I was told he's who I could talk to about the loss of the complaint by an AG staffer) I was told by the secretary "I'm not authorized to give you his email address." After reminding her several times that he was a state employee, and that his contact information was a matter of public record, she still refused to give me his contact information. He later emailed me and told me it was simply a "mix up" and not office policy. We'll see.
No worries, we're just taxpayers. Unless we can be matched up with a donor list from a fundraiser, we might as well not even bother to call our "public servants."
Posted by: calmwriter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 4, 2008 04:30 PM
Real estate businesses writing land use ordinances? Sounds like a repeat of Beebe having the gas companies write the severance tax law. We know that corporations and their lobbyists write many of the laws, but do they have to be so brazen, rub our noses in it, and then scurry under the refrigerator like roaches when we want to shine light on it?
Posted by: Jim Lendall![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 4, 2008 04:32 PM
Bios of all 7 CAW Commissioners at link...
http://www.carkw.com/administration/commission_bios.asp
Just so everyone knows.
Posted by: Lew![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 4, 2008 04:59 PM
Not only should the meetings be announced well in advance and open to all..but the text (even in rough draft status) of proposals should be available online with questions and comments accepted.
Posted by: Eureka Springs, AR![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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March 4, 2008 07:13 PM