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Cobb gives qualified 'ok' to plan; no telling where Barton is
By Bob Ochoa
RoundUp Editor
Numerous elected officials and public servants met April 16 at the Wimberley Community Center for their latest roundtable in the drafting of the Hays County Strategic Plan. Representatives were present from the cities of Wimberley, Woodcreek, Dripping Springs, Kyle, and Buda, Texas State University, LCRA, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, and Emergency Services Districts from Wimberley, Buda, Kyle and South Hays.
The plan is in final draft form. County Judge Liz Sumter (center left in photo) launched the project over a year ago. She said she expects to place it on the commissioners court's agenda for discussion and possible adoption in May.
Sumter said the plan has two underlying purposes – to improve coordination of the functions of all governmental bodies in the county and to reduce redundancy and expenditures. Standardizing software, centralizing 9-1-1 calls/dispatch and centralizing purchasing, collections and compliance are some of the recommendations in the plan. Rainwater collection incentives, working with cities to focus development in existing urban areas, seeking additional county authority to regulate land use, and a push for Scenic Road designations for county roads to minimize billboards, are others.
There are more than 70 recommendations in the plan listed under five major components: Internal (city/county government) objectives, water and wastewater, transportation, growth management, economic development and quality of life.
We were struck by a comment Judge Sumter made that speaks to the need for consistency in planning. "As elected officials come and go, and we all do," she said, "it's important we have a plan (that can) survive politics and politicians."
Sumter no doubt was alluding to her losing bid in the March 2 Democratic Primary to run for a second term in next fall's election. Without a chance to shepherd the plan through its implementation in the next three to five years, Sumter can now only hope to have it adopted by the court. Time will tell if the next county judge shelves it or puts it to good use.
There's no telling where Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton (now the Democratic nominee for county judge) stands on the question of planning and continuity. Early on, as the strategic planning process was getting under way, Barton reportedly refused to be a lead partner with Sumter. It's always tough getting a simple and direct answer from Barton, in any event.
Dr. Bert Cobb
Republican County Judge nominee and candidate Dr. Bert Cobb of San Marcos said he is not familiar with the details of the plan. "I cannot sign off on something I haven't seen," he said. But he told the RoundUp today, "If we put all our time and effort and money into such an effort, I think it ought to be followed. Once a plan is developed and people concur, we ought to stick with it until something better comes along . . . it gives continuity to government. We have problems in Hays County that supersede party or interest groups but we have to work together for what is best for the community." Considerable effort indeed has gone into the proposed strategic plan. The planning process over many months has included several community workshops across the county, a county wide survey of citizens and input from more than two dozen elected officials and public servants (the leadership group).
Some great ideas have come out of it as well. Buda's Fire Chief Clay Huckaby said his Emergency Services District 8 board had imposed a fire safety code inside their district to cover unincorporated areas where building regulations are far and few between. Sumter said a draft fire code has been sent to commissioners for their review and for possible adoption county wide. These measures could help in reducing insurance rates.
County commissioners should see the wisdom in adopting a well hashed out strategic road map to future development. It has been pointed out, correctly, that our commissioners often act independently inside their own precinct "fiefdoms" without considering the full effects of their actions on other jurisdictions and taxpayers. Things like approving subdivisions or any type of development result in more traffic, more noise, more infrastructure needs, oftentimes more new schools. All these actions, if not properly planned, bring along higher costs and taxes, more consumption of our natural resources, and generally higher anxiety levels for the entire community. The strategic plan takes aim at many of these issues in a comprehensive and inclusive fashion.
It's time commissioners started viewing their offices and actions as part of the whole. They should follow the lead of several city leaders present at last week's meeting who said they would enthusiastically endorse the strategic planning document and its goals.
Judge Sumter said the draft strategic plan will be up soon for all to read on the Hays County web site.
9 comments:
Dr. Bert, the free markets family specialist who hates Obamacare. So now he is the new local right wing populace candidate?
I don't know Doc personally but be careful what you vote for!
I can see the headlines now:
"Hays County government replaces green tea party with Lipton tea party. Splenda to replace stevia as favored sweetener."
Or:
"Hays County declares 'Trans-Fat" as 2010 American GM car of the year."
Good luck, Hays County, in 2010 and beyond.
it sounds like Cobb is willing to take a well developed plan, supported by what looks to be a lot of people in the county, and put some action behind it. That is an interesting and positive statement he made. But will he hold to it?
Barton is so all over the map with his rhetoric it is difficult to know where he stands on anything. I think he is one of the most compromised politicians in Hays County. I don't expect much from him except the flowering of cronyism like we've never seen before.
I applaud Judge Sumter for her exceptional planning efforts and all the elected officials who have worked with her.
I'd like to know what Cobb thinks about what doesn't supersede party and special interests.
Oh hell. After all the life we have all lived you know you cannot believe a politician. It is all about promises and how badly they break the promises.
This sham democracy we live in has become a secret joke in our lives. Special interests run our country; so if you are not one of them expect unemployment, welfare, stock market crashes, and pissed off politics.
Be duped once, be duped twice, but quit being duped the rest of your lives.
Being duped and demoralized doesn't mean you stop voting. That will only encourage the special interests to keep stealing and keep their sponsors in office.
I still cannot believe Democrats in Hays County knocked off Liz Sumter in favor of Barton. She has tried to represent the citizens interests first more than any county judge that has ever occupied that seat.
If Barton is elected it will be a total disaster for citizens who want clean local government and smart growth policies. Just take a look at what he has done over in Buda and Kyle, specially with that US Food bug-a-boo. He voted to put US Food in Buda in a place the citizens opposed. He tried to play Buda against Kyle. And he took money from US Food. Now US Food is a new Big Money influencer in our county. Just what we needed. If you want a loser for the county, pick Barton.
Bert Cobb's local politics are not well known. Maybe there is some hope with Cobb. I sure hope so because my hopes for electing good people to local offices is beginning to wane. But I will always vote for who I think are the best candidates. The less special interest money a candidate takes are the best candidates in my book.
Interested Voter is generally correct. However, my point is quit believing what you hear and do your research. Or use your intuition.
Dr. Bert called Obama a tyrant. Such labels show extremist stupidity and I will never vote for him because such ludicrous statements tell me he is not very bright and has a foolishly simplistic understanding of the purpose of government in a free enterprise and free markets economy.
He is a local goober with a DR. title. There, is that clear enough for you?
I don't care what Cobb thinks about Obama or Obamacare. To me that is not an indicator of what he thinks about Hays County's future development, or how he plans to get rid of the cronyism epidemic in county government, of which Barton and Will Conley are two of the leading toxic players.
If Cobb can tell me he will be an advocate for smart growth and not flood the western half of the county with subdivisions and Wal Marts, hotels and cheap restaurant franchises, and if he can tell me he won't do under the table deals with contractors and developers, then I will happily vote for him.
Honesty is the best policy. I may not agree with everything Cobb wants to do but if he proves to be an honest politician and county judge, that's good enough for me. Sometimes that is the last and best qualifier.
Hey LTG; I agree with your latter points. But I will not vote for Barton either.
So good luck with your stab in the dark vote.
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