Hood Canal, Mason County
WHERE IS THE COUNTY WHEN IT COUNTS?
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Scott Grout Mason County Progressive
The Mason County Commissioners' meeting on Tuesday, 4/17/12, was on the receiving end of some long standing and deserved frustration over lack of leadership and direction in handling water quality and sanitation issues. These are symptoms of what is a pervasive inability to establish a proactive strategy to deal with growth and environmental pressure, and it’s time to get into the 21st century.
Over the last four years there has been no shortage of crises. We’ve had fecal closures in Hood Canal; we’ve had zoning violations that are unattended to; we've had septic systems that clearly fail; and it’s getting worse by the month.
It does not mean some of our County staff don’t make the effort. I should point out that Debbie Riley of Environmental Health, Barbara Adkins from the Land Planning office, and Steve Bloomfield, our newest County Commissioner, have demonstrated awareness, concern, and passion toward the “cesspool” that is becoming Mason County in general, and Hood Canal in particular. The problem is that these hard working people are not supported, nor empowered by other leaders, to reverse the pattern and follow through on the toothless decisions made by the Commissioners on sanitation and land use, and get to the finish line.
So, we have lots of motion and little movement. As General Patton surveyed the carnage at El Alamein, he could have accepted the status quo, or chosen to do something totally different. He chose to change the culture of the situation, and made a choice to deal with the situation decisively, quickly, and irreversibly. He empowered people to plan and act, and our County leadership must compel their staffs to fulfill their tasks to a point of completion.
At the meeting on April 17th, my comments were taken as “exaggerated”. Folks, this is an excuse. It’s not taking ownership and accountability for what is a clear problem. For years, the responsibility for water quality has been thrown to state agencies, and by and large, they have been helpful once you get to the right person and the right agency. But this has been citizen work. There have been a handful of dedicated citizens who have committed hundreds of hours to point out needed solutions. Their reward is indifference or resistance, passive and active. Where is the County when it counts?
Our leaders are in denial. They will point the finger in any other direction and claim “ain’t my job”. In doing so, they tear the heart out of the energy and momentum of their own staff to make a difference. Why should the state or federal agencies have to shoulder the burden and the initiative? The County is the "grassroots" and should be leading the charge and demanding the support, coordination, and collaboration of any other agency that can streamline results.
From the Puget Sound Partnership, to the Department of Health, to the other County governments, to our own citizenry, Mason County is regarded as a laughing stock of efficiency and effectiveness. It can change. It must change. If our Commissioners do not feel up to shaking the trees to establish a new way of generating a new culture, then someone else needs to step in.
This statement also appeared in the 4/19/12 issue of the Shelton-Mason County Journal as a letter to the Editor.
Scott Grout is the owner of Gold Coast Oyster Company.
Photo by Christine Armond
Lately, there has sounded a drum-roll for change in how the County has been “handling” our air and water pollution problems, some of which seem only to have exacerbated and/or relocated over the years. While there has been much governmental back-slapping over this issue, it remains unclear if such congratulations are warranted. Indeed, to hear the Commissioners and the Dept. of Public (and Environmental) Health put it, great strides have been made. If this is so, then someone needs to communicate those statistics to the general public, because many of us are still under the impression that the County is more interested in appearances and grant-grabbing than generating consistent, measurable results over the long term.
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