Q: When does doing one's job make someone a hero?

A: When they actually do their job, despite extraordinary obstacles.

At the April 16^th Planning Commission meeting, during which a decision and a recommendation to city council was made on the Industrial Park EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), lone planning commissioner Josie Falgatter stood alone and faced the stone wall of other planning commissioners and city planner Rick Cisar, and did the citizens of Sultan proud.

Commissioner Falgatter repeatedly questioned Cisar and other planning commissioners about "holes" in issues that still need to be addressed in the latest iteration of the EIS (in our opinion, holes so large one could drive Mayor Rowe's "shiny new" gravel truck through them), but was met with a complacent and smug disregard for her anxieties, as well as those shared by many other residents, the Tulalip Tribe and a representative from Steward & Associates.

Her probing on issues such as wetlands delineation, zoning and incorporating public input into the process were repeatedly parried and sloughed off, deliberately minimizing her need for clarification.

This is a dance I call "The Ol' Sultan Shuffle," the dancing equivalent of the old shell game that's been done to death here. It begins with a great idea, a burst of energetic activity, but ends up in a slow waltz through quicksand as reality sets in and problems require legal resolution. At the start of this dance, there always seems to be time to get up, find a partner, and start clod-hopping and stomping around with a riotous bluster as the music begins, but pandemonium soon replaces enthusiasm as no one follows the proper steps.

We never seem to have the time or money to do things the right way, the legal way, yet always find the time and money to correct errors caused by hasty action, either through expensive litigation, fines, or additional consultants' fees, in order to correct a problem created by sloppy planning or wrongful action. In watching events unfold here in Sultan, I am reminded of a spoiled child who wants his candy N-O-W doggone it! who demands instantaneous gratification of their desires.

For those of you thinking Josie is a "member" of GRIT, please know that I do not even know the woman. My 100% exposure to her has been transcribing her responses when she interviewed with the council to land the PC job, whatever I have seen of her during PC meetings, and an insignificant one-minute exchange outside a planning commission meeting. Josie represents the quiet, concerned, caring, good citizens of Sultan who have simply given up trying to make a difference (most, perhaps?). But what separates Josie from others in town is that she has not given up trying to make this a better place.

The point is, Josie did her job as a planning commissioner last night The others did not. She probed, tried to find intelligent answers to her queries, and urged that true public input be incorporated into the process. She raised questions on the inadequacy of the road corridor "plan"; the wetlands delineation which has not been done; potential problems with contradictory or inadequate zoning, and other major issues, and was repeatedly rebuffed by wrongful, or worse, banal, responses by Rick Cisar and her fellow commissioners.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Bart Dalmasso read a long letter into the record to justify the "irregularities" of this PC hearing process. He quoted numerous RCW's (which he said he received from his attorney) that upheld and supported the PC process on the EIS. He may even be correct, since I have not yet had time yet to check out each of these statutes, and, of course, I am not a lawyer. But at the least, Commissioner Dalmasso is to be commended for taking the time to educate himself on the differences between a public meeting and a hearing, not one of his strengths, based on personal previous communication with him.

What I do know, however, is that Councimember Mark Raney requested that the mayor obtain an opinion from the city attorney on questions related to the PC hearing process, in particular, participation by Commissioner Tom Green. Mr. Green had been recused (upon request by L. Storm) during the first part of the EIS hearing on March 19^th, but was allowed to participate in the April 2^nd continuation hearing and voted last night, despite owning property in the affected area. (But he promised that his decision would not be influenced by his ownership of that land.) The entire process might well fall within the bounds of law -- probably does -- but the point is this: the decision and recommendation to council by the planning commission proceeded without this clarifying legal opinion, as officially requested by a council member.

Besides Ms. Falgatter's courage in simply doing her job, one other thing is clear: This planning commission is the equivalent of a mayor rubber stamp. Sad, but true.

And before the mayor, planning commissioners or other residents get on their high horse and charge at me full-blown with outrage, I challenge them to go to city hall, obtain duplicate copies of tapes from all of the last several months' worth of planning commissions meetings -- and hearings (there is a difference!) -- and listen to them one at a time. Oh, and while they're at it, how about pooling their money to obtain word-for-word transcriptions to add "teeth" to their misplaced indignity, and publish them so that all residents can read what's been going on and prove me wrong. Please.

Good for you, Josie, for doing your job.

And here's my last Q & A for you:

Q: If someone says "no" in a planning commission meeting, does anyone hear it?

A: We did.

Commissioner Falgatter was the only PC member to vote "no" on this EIS, as it stood on April 16^th. Hear that.

(PS: We are working on transcriptions of the March 19^th and April 2^nd hearings, as well as the decision last night. By the way, for the "unofficial" record, here's the attendance for the PC hearings/vote:

March 19^th hearing: John Seehuus absent

April 2^nd continuation hearing: Brandt Gerow, John Seehuus and Ron Kraut absent

April 16^th PC meeting, decision and vote on EIS: Ron Kraut absent

John Seehuus indicated at the 4-16-02 meeting that he had listened to both hearings on tape.)