More commissioners, better representation
Kootenai County is likely the most diverse county in all of Idaho; with its prairies containing dense areas of population and traffic outpacing the infrastructure, cities with multi-businesses and residential streets, rural communities in the mountains and forests where one’s closest neighbor might be a mile or more away, and agricultural flats where rugged individuals strive to survive in a challenging environment.
Each area within our county is needing unique consideration as we move forward with the issues that plague those living here, consideration that only comes with knowledge, education and listening by our decision makers. “No one size fits all” is a commonly used phrase to describe how many of us feel when decisions are handed down by our lawmakers that may be beneficial for some in one area, but definitely hurt others in another of our diverse County.
For numerous decades, three county commissioners have served Kootenai County. No longer is that an adequate number. While many don’t always agree with some of the decisions handed down, people move forward. But with the intense growth we are all witnessing and the differences among persons living here growing, many areas of this county do not feel adequately represented in their needs and issues.
For example, those of us living on the east side of the lake have never in the 20 years I have lived here, ever had a county commissioner actually living on the east side. How can anyone that has never lived in a rural mountainous community with only one deteriorating road as access, fully understand the dangerous position residents here are put in daily when growth is allowed to overtake our infrastructure, endangering full-time residents with huge amounts of construction traffic, stressing our volunteer fire and rescue department, taking water from areas that are already limited in output? They can’t.
How can anyone living within 10 minutes of a doctor or grocery store fully grasp what a 45-minute drive to those locations encompasses for anyone living in the Rose Lake or flats area. They can’t. It’s a full day set aside for an errand or two leaving important farm or ranch work till later. Again, I don’t recall a county commissioner ever coming from either of those areas.
That’s why I fully support increasing the number of county commissioners to at least five, rather than the three we presently have. Each Commissioner would have to live full-time in the area they are representing, thereby ensuring a more comprehensive understanding of the people they represent. When deliberations come to an issue, someone would be there to voice the real concerns of each area of Kootenai County.
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Bev Twillman is a resident of Harrison.