JPs vote in favor of Planning Board appointment
Posted on Friday, August 29, 2008
BENTONVILLE - The Benton County Quorum Court approved Judge Gary Black's appointment of Mark Curtis to the county Planning Board at the court's meeting Thursday night.
Justices of the peace voted 8-4 in favor of the appointment, with one justice, Marge Wolf, absent.
Thursday's hearing on the appointment of Mark Curtis to the Planning Board was the second time the resolution came before the court. During July's meeting of the Quorum Court, justices voted to deny Curtis' appointment, 6-5.
JP Debra Hobbs changed her vote on Curtis' appointment from "no "to "yes"on Thursday.
"I voted'no'last time because of my concern of (Curtis' ) bias and because of the watershed ordinance," Hobbs said. "I will support it now because in the end, we elected officials will make the final decision."
Before voting to approve Curtis' appointment to the Planning Board, several members of the court had questions for Curtis.
JP Beverly Williams asked Curtis if he would be able to be open-minded, despite his opinions on some issues facing the county.
"I am as open-minded as the next person who has an opinion," Curtis said, citing that although he has strong opinions and some bias for issues involving the development of Beaver Lake, he will be able to make fair decisions about matters coming before the Planning Board.
JP Chris Glass was concerned about Curtis' involvement with the proposed and failed Beaver Lake Watershed Ordinance.
"I own land that was subject to the watershed ordinance. Tell us your thoughts to that watershed ordinance now," Glass said.
"My perspective on the watershed ordinance has not changed a great deal," Curtis said. "There are parts of it that I like and parts of it that I do not, but I do believe it is a tool to protect the lake, and that is why I supported it.
"To protect the county and the lake and its agricultural base, there has to be some more planning done in the county. Sometimes more planning means more regulations, and sometimes it means changing some existing regulations," he said.
Some residents who attended Thursday's meeting of the Quorum Court had concerns with the appointment of Curtis to the Planning Board because of his involvement with the Association of Beaver Lake Environment. Curtis serves as treasurer of the organization and was a party in a lawsuit against Benton County concerning the proposed Grandview Heights development.
"I am very proud to be a member of ABLE, and I am very proud to stand before you and say that I sued the county on the condominium issue," Curtis said.
"The building of those condominiums would have cost the county a huge amount of money on infrastructure, schools and fire safety. I do not believe that is good for the county, and I will stand by that," he said.
Curtis is scheduled to be sworn in Friday for his position as a member of the county Planning Board by Judge Gary Black. Curtis will sit on the board for his first meeting at 5: 30 p.m. Sept. 17.
"I am glad that people believe I can do a good job, and I hope to uphold their belief," Curtis said. "To the naysayers, I hope that I can prove to them to be a fair judge of plans."
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