Kudos to the Iron County Commission
I've lived in Cedar City for 15 months now and I'm about to say something I have never said until now: I'm proud of the Iron County Commission.
At its Monday meeting, the commissioners decided not to reappoint four members to the controversial Central Iron County Water Conservancy District board.
It's about time that this board, which consists of too many good 'ol boys, was broken up. They've served the longest four-year terms in the history of politics, and a facelift will do nothing but send a positive message to the hundreds of angry residents who have hurled rocks at the board for the past several months.
While I applaud the commissioners, their work is not done. I hope the commissioners will make every effort to talk with local folks about their concerns AND communicate with the remaining water board members to gather their input and to ensure a smooth transition.
I've always believed that change is a good thing. In this case, however, I believe change is a GREAT thing.
Nice work, commissioners.
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Comments
Steve,
I agree - though I should point out that the headline on the story on the meeting was about the new fire code restrictions, and the non-renewal of the water board members was almost a footnote. I think the headline writer may have missed the bigger story.
That said, it wasn't made completely clear what the board's intent is. Are they just removing some board members in order to replace them with new ones in the same mold? Are they trying to look responsive without actually responding to the community? Or are they actually looking for some new thinking? That remains to be seen.
There are several folks in the community who are very knowledgable on water issues who believe that our supply issues can be managed without building a pipe costing hundreds of millions of tax dollars that may or may not be able to deliver water. If that viewpoint is represented among the new CICWCD members, then that's progress. So while I give the commissioners credit for recognizing the existence of a problem, until I see a clear indication of the new board's direction my applause isn't going to be very loud.
Call me a skeptic...
Posted by: Barry Short | October 11, 2006 10:22 AM