Early communication key to joint project

To the editor:

Like Supervisor Chairman Stephen Burgmeier [?Public hearings not just formality,? March 1] I value the public hearing process ? it?s the law. I also value preparation for meetings and communication. The road construction project that was being discussed at the joint meeting of the Fairfield City Council and Jefferson County Supervisors had been in development for many months. It involved a complicated formula for assessing cost between each governmental entity and the property owners bordering the proposed road. The City had worked out agreements with property owners within the city limits well before the hearing.

This process of sharing the cost of new road construction between government and property owners is always a delicate one. My experience with the few that we have done in Fairfield over the years is that the property owners must unanimously sign off on the project before it ever gets to the public hearing process. At the public hearings that we have held to approve these projects, the property owners show up to be sure the city will hold its end of the partnership ? not to express last minute doubts.

My ?off handed? comment to the council about ?thinking we had a partnership? was based on an assumption that the county had done its homework with the property owners prior to the meeting and was prepared to move forward. I felt bad for the property owners who had to come to a public meeting to protest the cost. This should have been worked out long before the public hearing and we were led to believe it was.

Sitting between the supervisors at the meeting, it was also evident that they were prepared to defer the approval of the project that night because they had anticipated something may come up. Supervisor Burgmeier never communicated that they would go back and see what could be done to make the project work after they voted not to approve it. If there was any sense before the meeting that they might want to defer the approval, it could have easily been communicated beforehand. That doesn?t excuse the fact that their portion of the project wasn?t fully prepared, but the council and I would have had a better idea what to expect after the months of work put into it.

I respect Supervisor Burgmeier and his principle of listening to the public before deciding. I hope next time there is an opportunity to develop a joint project that the lines of communication are clearer. That?s what makes a good partnership ? not back room deals.

? Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy