The INDEPENDENT, June 17, 2004
Page 13
More Letters
From page 12
The frivolous petition is not
based on fact only “personality
conflict.”
I have known Commissioner
Bernhard for years, way back
to her time as a county employ-
ee and Mayor of Scappoose.
Never have I seen such a de-
voted and knowledgeable
elected official. Rita attends
meetings and functions that re-
quire county attention all over
Columbia County.
She is a long-time member
of the Columbia Emergency
Planning Association and has
been involved with some of the
major project accomplishments
including establishment of a
countywide, computer alert net-
work for use in natural or man-
made disasters.
I urge fellow voters to resist
signing a recall petition against
Rita. It will only cost the taxpay-
ers money – money we can use
in other places for better things.
Sincerely,
Diane M. Dillard
Communications Manager
Boise Paper Solutions
St. Helens
Bernhard recall try is
fiscally irresponsible
To the Editor:
On May 26, 2004, the Board
of County Commissioners met
with the Park Advisory Com-
mission, Fair Board and mem-
bers of the Asburry Acres Task
Force at the County Fair-
grounds. Because the meeting
was scheduled at 6:00 p.m.,
the County provided pizza and
pop for the attendees, at a cost
of maybe $100.
At the meeting Public Works
Director Dave Hill discussed
three proposals for the devel-
opment of Asburry Acres, a
county park next to the Fair-
grounds. The Asburry Acres
Task Force had considered a
proposal which included a soc-
cer field and two baseball
fields. Task Force member
Peggy Crisp had made a pro-
posal for two soccer fields and
two baseball fields. The County
Parks Department presented a
proposal with a configuration
[of] one soccer field and two
baseball fields. The meeting
was generally amicable and
most of the attendees seemed
to agree that the Parks Depart-
ment proposal made the most
sense because it required the
least amount of off-site wet-
lands mitigation. Another meet-
ing was set to discuss the pro-
posals with the Little League
and Soccer Association.
The problem with the Asbur-
ry Acres site is that much of it is
wetlands. For every acre of
wetlands that is filled, the law
requires from one to three
acres of wetlands to be creat-
ed. Bill Eagle, former director of
the Soil and Water Conserva-
tion District, has estimated that
off-site wetlands mitigation can
cost as much as $500,000 an
acre. The proposal presented
by Peggy Crisp would require
as much as 9 acres of off-site
mitigation, at a cost of up to
$4.5 million, plus the cost of de-
veloping the baseball and soc-
cer fields. Prior to the May 26
meeting, Crisp’s proposal, as I
understand, had not been pre-
sented to either her own Task
Force, or the Parks Advisory
Committee, whose job it was to
present recommendations to
the Board of Commissioners
for the development of Asburry
Acres.
[After] the meeting at the
Fairgrounds (depending on
which version is correct), Peg-
gy Crisp took out recall peti-
tions against Rita Bernhard.
When questioned by the me-
dia, Crisp declined to comment
on the petition or her motives.
Asked if frustration over the
slow pace of development of
Asburry Acres was her motive,
(according to the media) she
said that wasn’t her only rea-
son. The recall papers them-
selves accuse Bernhard of “fis-
cal irresponsibility” and “public
deception.” According to The
Chronicle, a recall election
would cost between $23,000
and $25,000.
This week (June 7-11) Crisp
came to the Courthouse to ask
how much the County had
spent on food and refresh-
ments for the meeting, evident-
ly searching for facts to back up
her charge of fiscal irresponsi-
bility. She also asked to exam-
ine Bernhard’s expense re-
cords. My understanding is that
Bernhard rarely asks for reim-
bursement of her expenses.
It’s ironic that Peggy Crisp
wants taxpayers to foot the bill
for a $23,000 recall election,
because the County paid for
some pizza and pop costing
about $100, and because she’s
mad that the County is going
too slow on her $4.5 million dol-
lar park proposal.
John K. Knight
St. Helens
Asks voters not to
sign Bernhard recall
To the Editor:
On behalf of Boise Paper
Solutions, I am asking Colum-
bia County residents to resist
signing the recall petition
against Commissioner Rita
Bernhard.
Over the past two years, I’ve
had occasion to work with
Commissioner Bernhard on
several issues that affected lo-
cal businesses and the com-
munity. She comes to the table
with an open mind and makes
her decisions based on re-
search, community feedback
and one-on-one communica-
tions. She has taken the lead
on many issues at the Regional
Workforce Investment Board
(RWIB) thereby insuring Co-
lumbia County the best of train-
ing and employee partnerships
in the State.
Rita is honest, hardworking
and open-minded. She listens
to the citizens she represents.
Let’s not support a frivolous re-
call process that is not based
on fact. Please do not sign the
petition.
Sincerely,
Matt Saxe
Resident Manager
Boise Paper Solutions