In case you weren't able to catch the Tuesday afternoon meeting of Board of County Commissioners, here's a recap of some of the more entertaining moments of your government in action.

- The Cable Channel 29 television audio kicked in a few moments before the meeting actually began, just in time to catch Chairman George Bush taking a poll to reach a "consensus" about adjourning the regular meeting and then opening a workshop instead to deal with an issue.

I thought anytime elected officials formed a consensus about anything, other than maybe which pizza to have delivered to the break room, it was supposed to be after the meeting begins.

- As George introduced everyone after the meeting started, three Commissioners simply nodded toward the sparse crowd. But Vice Chairman Rob Bradley said "Hi" with a big smile. He actually looked prepared to have fun doing government business. He may have that government fetish we've discussed, Bax.

Bush didn't designate a Chairman of the Day, as he usually has during this, his final year on the Board. He seemed to catch Bradley's happy-to-be-here attitude and spent a good portion of the meeting with a big about one thing or another.

- The first real business of the day concerned the county settling a law suit filed by an asphalt company. George asked County Attorney Mark Scruby for a "30-second" opinion. I've seen lawyers take longer than that giving a "yes" or "no" opinion. Mark made a truly valiant attempt, but, c'mon, he's an experienced lawyer. Sum up a legal settlement? Gotta give him a realistic goal, like maybe the same three minutes regular citizens get when they have something to say.

- Bush's reaction to the volunteer Historical Commission spending money before asking for official approval was to ask County Manager Fritz Behring: "If you had an employee doing that, wouldn't you fire them?" Maybe it was just Fritz bumping the desk to turn on his microphone, but I swear I actually heard that question arrive with a dull thud.

- When the time came for the Commissioners to make their individual comments, Bradley mentioned that he had really enjoyed (it's that fetish showing again) an earlier discussion among Commissioners about transportation and the future. Part of that earlier conversation had been about the appropriate means to approach the topic.

Bradley said he wants to continue the discussion however it's decided is best and suggested the other Commissioners attend the BCC's own Transportation and Infrastructure Committee meeting. George suggested having the County Manager poll other counties to see how it's done there. Commissioner Harold Rutledge's reaction:

"Why don't we just do what we want? We're the policy makers."

- Commissioner Chereese Stewart was named the Board's official rep to meet with folks and talk about that state-mandated development agreement between the county and Camp Blanding. Taxpayers are gonna chip in to send letters to more than 500 owners of five acres or more within a 3-mile buffer around the Camp. This, for an issue Bradley summed up as: "Cell phones. Nothing more than that."

- After a break, the meeting concerned recommended changes in definitions found in County Codes. (This was apparently the topic of the pre-meeting consensus discussion.  Turns out, doing it as part of the meeting, instead of adjourning and opening up a workshop, was the chosen procedure.)  Details that concerned things like fence heights, setbacks, how to define front from side and back when it comes to yards, etc.

And business licenses, something the county does not have. Bush even mentioned he had received complaints about someone who taught piano in their home, and neighbors didn't like the extra traffic. Later on, Bradley brought his particular professional expertise to the debate.

"In Orange Park, our codes don't pretend like things don't happen," the OP Town Attorney/County Commissioner said.

- In some neighborhoods zoned for just houses, there are still some mobile homes. Folks have lived in them there since before the zoning restrictions. Told they were "grandfathered in," Bradley's solution to those mobile homes in the wrong zones:

"They've got wheels."

- The Commissioners decided they didn't just want the recommended code changes in the information they received before the meetings, but also a brief written explanation of why the change is needed and what the change will actually accomplish. Staffer Holly Parrish apologized for it not having been included and accepted full responsibility. The BCC members jumped to her defense, though, saying she'd never been directed to.

Finally, a government employee willing to say "It's my fault." And, wouldn't you know it, even that's not true. Government folks never can seem to get that admission-thing right. Of course, if they're gonna get it wrong, I'd rather have government folks like Holly than all those others who say "It's not my fault" when it really is.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net [1]