Township officials should be objective about how community resources are allocated. They have a fundamental duty to serve the community as a whole and not jump into divisive efforts launched by special interests. Good governance includes extensive interaction with citizens, whose personal opinions and concerns deserve respectful ears. To the extent that township officers pre-determined important decisions without open-minded engagement with citizens, such as the STEP sewer, leadership failed.
No one elected township Supervisors, Clerks, Treasurers and Trustees to be soothsayers, but there is a reasonable expectation that important decisions are objective and inclusive. Township officers do not have special powers to see over the horizon as to the implications of administrative decisions, however people do expect that these officials will make mature considerations of the consequences of expensive, proposed actions. The proposed sewer is a prime example of that failure.
Topics never openly discussed by township and GLUA (Gerrish Lyon Utility Authority) officials include the predictable negative consequences of a public sewer on the character of Higgins Lake. I see no evidence that those kinds of public deliberations have taken place on this obvious sewer downside. The STEP people avoid that subject like the plague. The STEP plan was a done deal before the public was engaged in any meaningful dialogue.
Much of the pro-sewer argument rests upon saving the lake from alleged pollution and how acute and urgent the need is to go urban with a public sewer. Aside from substantial flaws on the validity of the pollution claims, why are the obvious, very negative problems of a public sewer never, ever discussed in a thoughtful and objective fashion?
I personally believe that much of the pro-sewer pitch is bunk and some players are opportunists. You can gauge that by their methods. I also am convinced that the net outcome of significantly accelerating recreation and development around the lake is the greatest threat of all. Sewer proponents dismiss these threats as easily controlled by zoning. Given the misinformation used to push the sewer to date, who would trust this power to the same people to make that happen?
It is a huge mistake to lock into one issue and deny information that credibly disputes the concerns about the science used to justify the sewer and ignore predictable consequences. Township officials should be curious enough to consider all problems great and small as if they were spending their own money. They act like they are wasting ours instead.
Urbanizing Higgins Lake with a misguided sewer will cancel its serenity and beauty.
I don’t see enough wisdom happening in Lyon and Gerrish township offices with their whole hog facilitation of the STEP sewer. These officials purposely cut residents out of the process and used township resources to keep them from voting.
I am convinced that there are residents of the lake area who have the capacity to provide wiser township leadership. We need those kinds of individuals to assure that we don’t continue with the sewer and tune in to the voices around the lake that were deprived of meaningful input. That is what democracy and elections are for, and everyone needs to wise up and support better candidates this year who share those values. The current crop of officials turned their back on the majority.
Mother Ballot doesn’t like that kind of behavior.
Gail Johnson
Roscommon
