To her credit, Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier went into the lion’s den on Feb. 26 to meet with Friends of the Fiester Preserve. Obviously, she learned nothing from the experience. A letter to the editor quotes her as saying that all the public condemnation regarding the easement has been a successful campaign driven by social media and not actual public opinion.
Have the county commissioners been following this in the Summit Daily News over the past month or so? Dozens of letters have been written by local individuals, me included, with the vast majority against this action. Our local friends who we have spoken with about this issue are numerous and are completely against this step by the county board.
The letter goes on to quote her as saying that if the public was asked whether the county should extinguish the conservation easement, it would say no. What else does the board need to know?
If the board continues in this manner and extinguishes the easement, I propose we take a non “social media” approach. We launch a grassroots petition to recall the entire board and replace it with one that will listen. That’s the Democratic process in action.