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Those
Who Can, Do It’s great to be a County Supervisor. There are no qualifications to get elected, and once elected, you get to dabble in soooo many things. This week the Board of Supervisors wants to be Pretend Economic Developers. I think someone gave them a Barbie Business Consultant Playset and now they want to have some fun. Consider The Union’s headline of Wednesday, November 10th, "County ties new string on ERC funding." To summarize, the Board of Supervisors will give the Economic Resource Council (ERC) the magnificent sum of $44,100 to promote business growth. But, unlike last year, this time the Board wants a spot on the ERC board and input into ERC policies. To paraphrase The Union, Supervisor Dardick would like the ERC to work as a "clearinghouse" of ideas, but not take action until the supervisors "determine the county’s direction." Larry Burkhardt, President of the ERC, assumes the good intentions of the supes "rather than driving for their own agenda." Also, the county will hold an economic development conference on November 22nd, after which Supervisor Van Zant proposes the county and the ERC "compare vision statements" and "align them for the common effort." There’s so much code here, I’m going to need a special machine to decrypt it for you. Burkhardt’s job is to be diplomatic to everyone, especially the supes, who provide one-third of his budget. My job is different. My job is to tell you that this is a dumb move by a bunch of meddlers who haven’t done a real swell job of running County government. Here’s the track record of these business visionaries: On June 24th, The Union Reported that business groups (the chambers, the NC Contractors’ Association, the NC Business Association) wrote the supes, charging them with neglecting or thwarting business growth. In that article, Conklin cited the new ease with which a winery can open a tasting room (wow!). Dardick suggested the letter was accusatory (no kidding, Sam!). Dardick suggested it was unfair to view the supes as "in the pockets of the RQC." Finally, the supes voted (get ready!) to form a subcommittee! In mid-summer, I believe, Supervisor Conklin made his long-to-be-remembered "crafts are good business" statement." I guess the idea was to elevate us to the level of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala or Elbonia, carving little statues and playing our tambourines, while tourists murmur approval and throw small coins. Was it in late summer that the supes couldn’t come up with a forum that both RQC and business groups felt comfortable attending? The business groups decided to pass. In late October, Lighthouse Digital Systems (a low-impact business) was trying to expand, but it required passage of a special ordinance. Even owner Bob Grant was quoted as saying, "I’m not sure what [the ordinance] accomplishes." The good news is that Conklin and Van Zant understood the business and the need for a zoning change. Dardick and Martin wanted (stop me if you’ve heard this before) a "more detailed study." On October 30, The Union published a lengthy article by Supervisor Dardick, which you might call the Macrame Manifesto. A portion of it was sensible, but comparing the growth of San Jose to that of Nevada County was a little farfetched. So was the suggestion that the Rural Quality Coalition is involved with economic growth. It was visionary, however, when he suggested that agriculture, eco-tourism, and ecological industries (whatever they may be) could be part of our future. The bottom line is that the supes are not skilled to advise the ERC, much less drive it. Now for the decoding of the November 10th article: "Hello, ERC. We are the Supervisors. Although we have no clue about economic development, we want to be on your board. And if you don’t let us play, you won’t get your lousy $44K. You are a "clearinghouse," much like a septic tank. You will not take action until we tell you to. You will stop listening to those business groups and listen to the RQC. We have a vision, because we had a conference. When we say ‘align,’ we mean ‘you’ll do it our way.’ Got it? Now get the hell out of our meeting room." As I’ve learned from working with corporations, the words "vision," "mission," "committee," "study" and "meeting" put a dagger into the heart of any enterprise. When all is said and done, much is said and little is done. Barry Schoenborn is a technical writer, and an 11-year resident of Nevada County. His column appears the second Saturday of the month. You can write to him at barry@wvswrite.com. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily those of The Union. |