A friend that did political work at the Legislature once observed that if you were not at the table for an issue, your issue may end up on the table, or die. Recently I saw how this applies here. The issue was converting a former rail bed to a bike path. As one that attends most county commission meetings, I saw the initial presentation at the second December 2018 meeting. Clearly those in attendance, who were not the normal core group of attendees, were in favor of the issue. While I was unable to attend the following January meeting, I learned a vote was cast, and not all interested parties were present. The February 7 Thursday meeting had to be held at the courthouse due to a huge crowd on this issue. Just like at the Legislature, there were people wearing t-shirts and signs outside opposing the issue.
Issues on county commission meetings are published and if you sign up for the email list, you get the agenda that way. The fact is most people do not get involved in politics. A truism I use is that 99% of people take no interest in politics until it directly affects them, and by then it is usually too late to do anything. Fortunately, that was not the case here. A phrase I heard Thursday was that just because something was legal did not make it right. Clearly the nearby property owners should have been notified of the agenda item well before any vote was cast. They were not, because there was no legal requirement to do so. I was pleased to see the commission rescind their prior vote so that more input could be received. That is how a representative democracy should work.
Paul Henry