Potemkin Village Building - The Commishes Ride Again

Boy, this article doesn't really say a whole lot, other than that Commissioners are completely open to picking whatever growth number they choose, and planning accordingly. Which means what, they pick it out of a hat that Co Community Planning provides?

Why not just take the US Census number for Clark County 2020 - 600K - and run with that? Its not like picking a bigger number would in any way detract from the Potemkin village act going on at 1300 Franklin by the Commissioners now. If anything, they can squander more money on glossy brochures and hiring underqualified personnel who draw County government into unneeded lawsuits. We could even (gasp) go "vote", in advisory ballot, on "how" we're going to fund all the growth the Commissioners pick. Given Commish actions this past year don't have much bearing on real-world analysis and actually looking out windows at how people are living lives here in the County, its a bit like a Sim City scenario to me.

I only hope our new Charter is voted in by us and resolves current lunacy responsibly.

Read more on this:  ovancouvria.blogspot.com.

I would assume that RESPONSIBLE County Commissioners would pick, say, the 562K number said comm planning director provides. However, we must remember that, in terms of fully funding a responsible and financially sound urban government that our County residents NEED, Commissioners have fallen far short - preferring instead to hand out giveaways big and small, axe (at DES) needed services for low-income folks (by nixing County WSU Extension funding), forget about covering costs for sound zoning and planning analysis of said growth, nitpick a proposed bridge that is costing the County NOTHING to death through their Olympia friend (said Senator/Director of DES Benton), throw red herrings at us (votes on bridges that wont be built, suggesting Humane Society shouldn't get paid to do animal control, withholding funds from economic development councils, putting their political energies behind throwing their opponents out of office/suing them for libel), among other things. Lets not forget the five/six lawsuits against the County that WILL, eventually (regardless of what "lawyers I know in this room say" (quoting Madore from November open BOCC meeting) wind up costing the County $6+M - our entire reserve and then some.

Funding, as Bill Barron knew, for County's current level of services is DOWN 15% from last year. As far as I know, the County's own community planning director in this very article didn't say anything about County population shrinking 15%.

Hence, I'm worried that Commissioners could pick whatever number suits THEIR fancy - which, according to Commissioner Madore in a magazine interview January 2013, was a vision of Clark County flatlands "filled with big homes on one-acre lots as far as the eye can see". I believe Madore also rhapsodied about a Clark County with a million people in it (all in these lovely sounding McMansions?) by 2040-50 or so. Will all these people follow NIke (as Madore wished for last year in an open letter to the company) across the river to their new suburban paradises? Or what?

Its my guess that whatever new influx happens isn't going to be able to afford said happy homes on acre lots. Let alone be able to fully cover their own basic needs. Or pay for their own roads, public health, parks, etc. My feeling is that we're going to have lots more people, from Portland-side and elsewhere around the world, squeezed out of even more expensive situations than what we have here, looking to us because, relatively speaking, we're cheaper than others, have pretty scenery, OK schools, and chances at decent work close at hand. We're particularly, I think, going to get more and more poorer folks squeezed out of Portland's rising prices and holier-than-thou sustainability makeover - especially as it accelerates in St Johns, east of 205, and below Foster Rd. These folks are gonna need our County to help out.

Although...all things being equal, and in line with Commissioner habits, they'll probably just pick a gigantic number to impress corporate folks and investor folks in publicity blitzes, The Columbian will report that number without questioning the math, lovely colorful projected budgets will be produced on glossy paper (on County money), blogger pundits backing Commissioners will gush over their serene wisdom and exhort naysayers to see the light, and then powers-that-be at County will quietly "forget" they ever picked a number in the first place - thus another episode in County government's Potemkin village novel. Gawd forbid we ever get any inkling of where new revenues will come from to pay for all the things people that move here by then might need. That would mean higher taxes, putting fees back into place, not publishing glossy self-congratulatory flyers to garbage customers on County dime, and (gasp) paying the Humane Society. Oh, and not doing stupid stuff to get the County sued.

You'd think all you people living in suburban unincorporated Clark County would get a clue already and petition to become your own cities to get services you need. Or join (gasp) Vancouver.

I'm sitting here typing this grinning over the likelihood of a 2020 Clark County stuffed to the gills in unincorporated inner-suburban and city neighborhoods (Hazel Dell, Orchards, E Minnehaha, Rose/Bagley, Heights, inner Fishers) with desperately poor people working for minimum wages at jobs provided by a tiny slice of wealthy folk, who, like the movie Elysium, live in their isolated and heavily guarded compound in the "sky" (in this case, Mt Vista, Livingston Mt, Prune Hill). Sort of like Oliver Twist meets backwoods deep South. But with beige condos and McMansions.

I am, of course, praying (and not nitpicking) that Freeholders will come up with a new Charter that changes County government into a much more responsible and wise place than its current state. And that we vote YES on the new Charter to get back to some sanity when it comes to encouraging growth, providing for growth, and directing growth. Which, as the US Census knows (why aren't County planning officials looking at Census projections and DOING THEIR JOBS?) will be around 600K in 2020. NOT 562K. I only pray Commissioners don't go ahead and continue their "wild ride" ala Mister Toad, and defer decisions about growth, and planning for it, to wiser heads on an expanded County Council post-charter and rearranged departments that are managed by folks who know about and care for their professional responsibilities and duties to us, the citizens of Clark County - rather than showboat in from Olympia 3 days a week when they're not sitting in Senate session.

I'm knocking wood.