Where Are They Going, for I Am Their Leader?

The Polk County Economic and Tourism Development Commission appears to lack a clear mandate. A meeting will be held March 7, at 5:30 p.m., at the Womack Building in Columbus, “to solicit input from Polk County residents on economic development.”

Safe on the Planning Throne

The Macon County Board of Commissioners decided not to impose retroactive term limits on planning board members. Any changes to affect the composition of a board appear targeted to personalities or parties. Commissioner Ron Haven first suggested the idea in an email advocating for the removal of the chairman of the board. Haven called the pro-planning chair a dictator and suggested the entire elimination of the board might not be a bad idea. For details on the public hearing and exactly what kind of term limits the commissioners approved, click here.

Neighbors South of the Border Don’t Trust Asheville

Members of the public who spoke at Thursday’s meeting of the General Assembly Metropolitan Sewerage/Water System Committee, generally opposed a regional water authority. One reason was communities south of the Buncombe County line were faring well with an efficient water system that delivers quality water at a good price. Another was the same communities felt betrayed by Asheville in previous agreements.

String Theory

What do government and insurance companies have in common? Well, obviously, they take a huge bite out of the working-class budget, with costs appearing to outweigh benefits by far. Any Occupier might be able to give a long string of connections by association. An example might be the complaint of Chris McClung.

Graham County decided last year to reject FEMA’s proposed floodplain maps. Now, McClung is complaining because he couldn’t get a home improvement loan because he couldn’t get flood insurance, and he couldn’t get flood insurance because the county does not participate in the federal program. The county is also expected to suffer repercussions in federal “highway, water, and sewer grants.”

The commissioners rejected the floodplain maps because they were “incomplete” and “full of errors.” Criteria used to establish the floodplain appeared arbitrary, and, in general, not much flood damage occurs in Graham County.

Only about $13,000 in flood damage claims have been recorded in several decades.