Agenda - Council - 02/13/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MEMORANDUM DATE: TO: FROM: December 7~ 1989 Metropolitan Local Water Management Task Force William L. Downing SUBJECT: A minority opinion, regarding the method used to selec~ water management organization board members. This is in response to Issue ~t: How to accomplish constructive public participation in and local coordination of local water management? Present WMO board selection and advisory committee: Watershed District (WP) WMO managers apmointed by Coun.~y Board(s) from nominations by units of government. Citizens' Advisory Committee required but not always appointed or active. Joint Powers (JF') WMO boards variously appointed by the units of government involved in the agreement. No Citizens' Advisory Committee required. The Task Force is suggesting: Require the appointing authority to publish notice of vacancies on WMO boards, and notify the BWSR of all vacancies... Maintain the current appointment process ~or watershed district managers, but require geographic representation: allow coun- ties to appoint from outside the lists o~ nominees submitted by cities and towns: and allow counties to remove WD managers for just cause. Require WDs to have technical advisory commit-' tees with representatives of affected cities, counties, and SWCDs. Reouire the BWSR to adopt rules on JPWMO joint powers agreements that provide for removal of 3PWMO members for just cause, and provide ~or the creation of JPWMO advisory committees. It is apparent that as we refine further, we get farther and farther away from the citizens. If we want "constructive public participation and local coordination", what better way than to elect the board members d~rectly? My proposal: The WMO board be elected directly by the public ~rom nominatino distri~ within the watershed. With elected boards, decisions will ftow directly from the citizens t the protection of the water resources~ without intervention of cities and their departments, counties and their departments, and state agencies and their departments. F'utting the people in charge of thei~ local watersheds, through their elected representatives, is democrat' at its best. This system has been shown to work very well in the election of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and can work as well here. To say that the mapping problems make this too cumbersomm is to forget how far our computer mapping advances have brought us. we want this system, we can find a ~ay to bring it about.