As many of you know, the Platte County GOP primary is August 5 where Jim Plunkett, Ron Schieber, and Russell Wojtkiewicz seek the GOP nomination for presiding commissioner of Platte County. Whoever wins this primary effectively will be the next presiding commissioner (as the Democrats are not running anyone). This is an open primary so anyone (not just Republicans) can vote in it.
Some residents of south Platte County put together some important questions for the three candidates for presiding commissioner and below are their answers.
QUESTIONS:
1. Many people live in Platte County for its unique charm, rural feel and open green spaces. We do not want to see Platte County become an over-congested, high-density clone of Johnson County, KS. If you are presiding commissioner, what would you do to help protect Platte County from becoming a Johnson County clone?
2. Many people are worried that developers and real estate interests have too much political power in Platte County. For instance, the bulk of Jason Brown’s political contributions came from the developer / construction / real estate industry. Many feel that this industry, in essence, wants to transform Platte County into a Johnson County clone — thereby enriching themselves, harming everyone else. If you are presiding commissioner, what would you do to help protect Platte County from the influence of this industry?
3. Related to question #2, many people feel that Platte County Planning & Zoning is completely out of control — rubber-stamping and fast-tracking projects for their developer buddies, all at the expense and loss of safety of tax-paying citizens. [N.B. We are referring here to the recommendations by the P&Z staff, not to the unpaid board members of the P&Z commission, although there is the future possibility that developers could try to stack the unpaid P&Z board with their friends.] If you are presiding commissioner, what would you do to clean up Platte County Planning & Zoning?
4. Many people in this area of South Platte County are happy with their septic systems and do not want to be forced into hooking up to a sewer system. If you are presiding commissioner, what would you do to guarantee that Platte citizens could keep, upgrade and construct new septic systems?
5. There were 15 votes against Chapel Ridge (from the first and second P&Z hearings and county commissioner hearing) and one person, presiding commissioner Jason Brown, voting in favor of Chapel Ridge who approved it. If you were presiding commissioner, how would you have handled this differently?
6. Many people are worried about the NBH FourPlex & Commercial High-Density Development Plan for K / 45 Intersection, which many feel will “junk up” this area of 45, effectively be the first step in transforming this area of 45 into a North Oak Trafficway. If you were presiding commissioner, what would you do to protect citizens from such short-sighted development plans?
JIM PLUNKETT’S ANSWERS:
1: We moved to Platte County from Johnson County because we loved the quiet, rural setting but still wanted to be close to conveniences. I certainly understand your concerns because we moved to Platte County for many of the same reasons and want to see this area maintain its unique features.
If I am elected Presiding Commissioner, I would adhere to Platte County’s Land Use Plan. The Land Use Plan was created with citizen participation and other community organization involvement in 2002 and updated in 2010. Platte County has invested a significant amount of money in this plan.
The Land Use Plan and Zoning Order should be followed with the intent that it was created for. Applicants wanting to use just one part of the book or comments from a single sentence should be discouraged.
As Presiding Commissioner, I will continue to follow the Land Use Plan in order to develop Platte County in a manner that will protect its unique qualities.
2: When I was commissioner, my top goals were to be as transparent and accessible as possible. I kept an open door policy and I still give out my cell phone on all my campaign pieces. I take calls from residents 7 days a week, any time of day. When there was a controversial issue, I would always make sure to meet with concerned citizens so I could hear all perspectives.
When I decided to run for Presiding Commissioner, I invited all the residents concerned with the Chapel Ridge development to my office. We met for several hours and I was able to listen as they voiced their concerns with both the proposed development and the process by which it was approved.
I have earned a reputation for being reasonable and approachable, and I promise that I will continue to be so as Presiding Commissioner.
Next, I would protect the integrity of the office by voting based on what is best for the county, not what’s best for contributors. When I first ran for office in 2004, I made a pledge to voters that I would not take contributions from people or businesses that were doing business with Platte County, and I kept that promise the eight years I was in office and have honored that pledge during my campaign for Presiding Commissioner.
I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. Jason Brown was my opponent Ron Schieber’s largest contributor in 2012. I am concerned that if Schieber is elected as Presiding Commissioner, it will just be another Jason Brown running Platte County.
3. The Platte County Commission needs a Presiding Commissioner who is willing to make tough decisions in order to fix problems. When I was elected as Second District Commissioner, the Platte County Regional Sewer District was in need of some serious clean up. I was appointed to the Board and went about making changes to the management structure in order to make the Board more efficient, effective and transparent.
If elected, I will take the same approach to the Platte County Planning & Zoning Staff. I will inspect the process and take appropriate action to ensure that it’s functioning to the highest level possible.
4. South Platte County sewers are currently complicated. There are three entities involved: the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Platte County Health Department and the Platte County Regional Sewer District, and all three have their own rules.
I spoke to Missouri DNR and they promote the use of septic tanks through 10CSR20-6.030 with the oversight handled through the Platte County Health Department.
PCRSD bylaws state that if your property is located within 300’ of their sewer line and the structure is located within 400’ of their sewer line they want you to hook up to their sewer system. I know the board has allow property owners in the past not to hook up if their existing septic is working with the understanding that at some point they could connect in the future if it become necessary.
One way to address these issues is to appoint the right people to the Platte County Regional Sewer District. The County Commission appoints the members so it’s important to have a Presiding Commissioner who is knowledgeable about these issues and makes the right appointments.
Maintenance of your septic system is very important.
5. When I was commissioner, I never once overrode a decision of the Planning and Zoning Board. These are people who give a lot of time and energy to help make informed decisions and have researched the issues thoroughly, often going out to visit the sites proposed developments on their own time.
If I had been presiding commissioner during this process, I would have listened to all citizens. I would have responded to their emails and phone calls and invited them to meet with me about it.
I would have voted to uphold the Planning and Zoning Commission decision on Chapel Ridge
6. The county needs to adhere to the Land Use Plan. It states that infrastructure must be in place for an application to be approved. If the traffic count would exceed what the road can safely handle, the application must be denied.
These safeguards are in place to preserve the integrity to Platte County’s development and should be followed.
[Correction: Jim Plunkett's campaign sent an email saying the above should say Jason Brown was Ron Schrieber's largest contributor in 2010, not 2012.]
RON SCHIEBER’S ANSWERS:
Thank you for the opportunity to answer your questions and discuss your concerns about the current and future development issues in Platte County.
Platte County has a land use and zoning plan. That plan should be the starting point for all development. I am a supporter of responsible development, that is properly vetted, and makes sense to our community.
Following the current land use and zoning plan is sufficient to protect us from becoming a Johnson County clone. Insuring that new development fits within the scope of the plan is my commitment. If, and when, variances from the plan may be necessary, I commit to working with concerned neighbors, developers and land owners to come to a reasonable compromise.
That process includes the Platte County Planning and Zoning Department. Their recommendations should be considered in variance decisions. However, I am committed to giving the Planning and Zoning Board decisions more weight in my decision to vote for or against variances. I would not vote for a development that was rejected by the Board, nor will I ever use the Presiding Commissioner’s “preferential vote” to determine an outcome. This type of behavior causes citizens to lose faith in the process and government in general. The actions of the current presiding commissioner may have been legal but I do not think it was right. One of my goals is to bring trust back to the presiding commission's office.
With all of this said, I do not support the NBH Development currently being proposed and I will work with the citizens in the area to try to stop a repeat of the Chapel Ridge fiasco.
I support a person's right to maintain a septic system as opposed to forcing them to hook up to a sewer. The Platte County ordinances do allow for reasonable variances to the standard hook up requirements. If we find that the variance process is not strong enough to protect this right, I am committed to working with the department, sewer district boards, and the other commissioners to try to change the ordinances to protect this right.
