No more wind farms in county’s crystal ball
Staff writer
No more conditional use permits for wind farms, more residents involved in county affairs, no duplication of services, and preventing issues from festering are among the things county commissioners said Monday they’d like to accomplish.
They’d also like to have an event venue that could be host to international events, become more forward-thinking, put concrete on all roads, and see higher levels of health care with excellent specialty services.
Commissioner Clarke Dirks wants to build a healthy rural county that is more self-sufficient than it now is.
He wants people to participate in decisions the county makes and thinks people mistrust government.
“The only way to alleviate that mistrust is to give them a broader voice,” Dirks said.
As for roads, he wants to see whether townships could be more involved.
He also thinks road department employees need better training.
“I think our road graders get a couple days training and then are out on the road,” he said.
Commissioner Dave Crofoot said he thought people didn’t participate because they have other commitments or they fear speaking up and having their name in the newspaper.
Politics, frustration, and past perceptions are among reasons commissioners said they thought people wouldn’t step up.
Lack of planning for roads and lack of thought-out programs in departments are hurdles, Dirks said.
“We’re not going to do everything for everybody,” he said. “We’ve got to have a plan and stick to it.”
Commission chairman Jonah Gehring said he thought the county should focus on technology, budget, and maintenance items that don’t cost a lot or involve a lot of “down the road” expenses.
“I think we need to work on our public relations and promote Marion County as a good place,” Crofoot said. “We’ve gotten a lot of negative in recent years.”
Commissioner Kent Becker said he would like to see expanded technical training and would hope school superintendents would cooperate to bring that about.
Becker said he also wanted to see an expanded apprenticeship program. The county has had occasional high school apprenticeship programs where seniors work in county departments.
“There are so many kids in high school who don’t have a clue,” Becker said.
Crofoot said the county had many departments and could provide many apprenticeship opportunities.
Monday’s session was brainstorming in advance of commissioners setting a time to narrow down goals and do strategic planning.