The Green River City Council decision to draw out the Union Wireless cell tower request was drawn out Tuesday night when the Council opted to table the issue as opposed to voting on it.
The issue at hand: the belief the public hadn’t been adequately informed of the proposal to build an 80-foot lattice cell tower near Ace Hardware. This is a ludicrous proposition as several council members said they had been contacted by their constituents during the meeting.
Both Gary Killpack and Sherry Bushman stated at the meeting they had heard from concerned residents prior to the Council’s meeting while Councilman Jim Zimmerman said he had received numerous comments against the proposal during an interview with the Star the day after the meeting.
One resident had shown up to speak about the issue as well, citing her concerns about what the tower would do for the views around the area and wanting to see Green River unencumbered by the sight of towers throughout the city.
Additionally, the Star itself has covered the issue since before the initial planning and zoning meeting focusing on the proposal. Yet that coverage, the public notices and the comments residents had made to their Council representatives wasn’t enough input for the Council to make a decision. This seems like a strange situation, though we’re of the belief it boils down to the Council wanting residents to show up and voice their concerns about the cell tower in person, which defeats the purpose of having elected representation in the city.
The city Council operates as part of a representative democracy in that residents who have a concern with something involving the city can approach their Council representatives to voice their concerns. Those representatives then are supposed to bring those concerns to the Council itself or help the resident find the proper person and department to speak with get their concerns addressed.
Residents are generally busy and setting aside time to go to a Council meeting in person means time away from family. Add in the pressures of the shift work schedules many residents work and attendance can become a difficult proposition for many.
We’re convinced the Council had the information it needed to make a decision and the fact the proposal nearly died for a lack of a motion -- meaning no one on the Council moved to approve the proposal until after it was suggested they open it for discussion, tells us the Council was ready to send it back to Union Wireless for them to re-examine.
However, the city now incurs more cost in advertising and hosting another public hearing on the matter in a move that would absolve the Council of making an unpopular decision.
Members can simply say no one showed up to the meeting and vote in favor of something otherwise unpopular with residents. All because some members would rather people show up and voice their opinions than fulfill the duties they were elected to do.
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