The proposals are on the table.

Friday, January 21, 2000

The proposals are on the table. Now, it’s time for the Mower County Board of Commissioners to act in a thoughtful manner.

The county board sat at Ellis Middle School in Austin on Tuesday night and heard a variety of proposals from citizen committees charged with the task of assessing the county’s assets and liabilities.

Those committees proposed a wide-ranging list of suggestions that include things such as meeting housing needs for elderly and low-income residents to educating current residents about the cultures of newly arrived immigrants.

The nearly yearlong study by the five panels was an effort to create a long-range vision for the county. The five panels included youth and family; land use, environment, economic development and housing; elderly; infrastructure; and public health and public safety.

Some of the proposals will be easier than others to implement. It will be the task of the county board to examine these plans and see what can be implemented for the betterment of the county.

Other proposals perhaps are out of line. For instance, the youth and family committee recommends that the county "promote legislation that promotes the education and prevention of pregnancy outside of marriage." Should the county be dealing with morality issues such as preventing unmarried women from having babies? If an unmarried woman wishes to have a baby, the government should not intervene.

The committee members put a lot of work into their studies. The county board should not take these recommendations lightly.

Now, the proposals will be reviewed by the long-range strategic planning committee’s steering committee, which is comprised of representatives from each of the five citizen committees as well as two of the county board members: Ray Tucker and Len Miller.

The steering committee will digest the 23-page report prepared by the panels and present a condensed form to the county board. The commissioners then will decide what things are necessary and affordable to implement.

The county board should review the condensed version of the report and act as quickly as possible on the recommendations. The board isn’t expected to adopt all of the proposals, but, hopefully, they can see that many of the ideas are carried through. Soon.