Eminent domain is the sticker (Newspaper editorial)

The problem for most Yorkers with the county commissioners' plan for a 725-acre park along the Susquehanna River in Lower Windsor Township is not the park concept itself.

It's what the commissioners are willing to do to achieve their aims--take private property and public opposition be damned.

The recent York Dispatch public opinion poll indicated that 73.1 percent of those surveyed disagree with the use of eminent domain to develop Lauxmont Farms into a county park--an that only 12.6 percent favor such action.

Most York countians obviously are not taking issue with the proclaimed "vision' of the two commissioners behind the park plan that is called into question, but most are opposed to their chosen means to reach that end.

The poll results show that the two commissioners, Lori Mitrick and Doug Kilgore, have no clear mandate from county residents in their quest to create the riverlands park.

Of the 396 individuals surveyed, 34 percent said they disagreed with the creation of the new park with the assumption that eminent domain would be used to acquire the land, while 17.8 percent were undecided. Meanwhile 48.2 percent said they agreed with the creation of the park.

County Commissioner Steve Chronister has consistently opposed the creation of the park.

The two other commissioners already have successfully seized the Highpoint area that was under private development as part of their park plan. What that seizure will eventually cost the county has yet to be determined.

That taking and the attempted seizure of hundreds of acres of the Kohr family's Lauxmont Farms to make up the majority of the park are what have sparked the most public outcry over the project.

Public meetings have been conducted on the project, with opponents of the plan stifled in their attempts to provide opposing views. The proposal has split the county board of commissioners, with Chronister critcized by his colleagues on the board and by the president of the York Lancaster Heritage Region, Mark Platts, for "interfering" on behalf of the Kohr family.

The issue also has effectively split the county and promises to be a 2007 election issue, as early as the primaries for county commissioner posts. It didn't have to be this way. There's little that's inappropriate with using the "bully pulpit" to sway public opinion on a pet project.

But the county commissioners' tactics in brooking no opposition to their self-proclaimed vision smacks more of sheer bullying, with no attempt at accomodation.

With that attitude, they have taken the park issue out of public debate, where it belongs, and made it a personal fight where no quarter will be given or taken.

In Congress July 4, 1776...........

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed"

The acts taking place in my county described in this good editorial from a liberal newspaper are a disgrace.

One Republican Commissioner, Lori Mitrick and Democrat Doug Kilgore are supporting this awful scheme to take a family's land away from them.

Also involved is my Congressman, Todd Platts (Republican 19th District-Pennsylvania). His power is behind that of his brother Mark Platts, mentioned in the editorial as the head of the group that wants to build this park.

The board of this Lancaster-York Heritage Region includes some of the richest and most liberal people in my county. People who have donated thousands to the Democrat National Committee, Bill Clinton, and Governor Ed Rendell, among others.

Shame on all of the people involved in pushing this scheme.

This whole thing really is a disgrace. There's another park with just as nice a view less than 1 mile away from this one.

What interests me is the mindset of commissioner Lori Mitrick. Kilgore is a dem and is now her evil sidekick - you expect this of a dem. But she was elected due to voter anger over another grandiose county project - a truly Taj Mahal courthouse.

When she ran, she said the right things and it's been a total surprise that not only would she engage in this type of theft of property, but that she'd also take a Marie Antionette attitude with the voters. Queen Lori will likely get hers at the next election, but here's my question:

What is it that leads a normal person to abandon their beliefs once they take office? She certainly seemed normal when she ran, but now she's just another freedom stealing lib with a bad attitude. What happened? Was she lying to us, or (I think this is more likely)did her new circumstances led her to want to "make a difference"?

Is there a way to anticipate and avoid the "liberal drift" that seems to occur all too often in otherwise normal people when they take office?

Another data point that supports my tagline.

There's a lot in play here.

Mitrick entered politics as a Springettsbury Township supervisor in opposition to the building of a shopping mall in her neighborhood. The first patch of land they took is from a developer who was going to build houses so that may fit her agenda.

She ran with Congressman Platts support and Todd is helping his big brother (Mark with Lancaster-York Heritage Region)
with federal money for the scheme.

Steve Chronister broke with Congressman Platts on this one but is receiving the support of fellow realtors (Chronister's business) in opposing the eminent domain land grab.

Mitrick and all politicians of note in York County run with the support of big money from quite a few rich, liberal business people (Louis Appell, Art Glatfelter, Robert Kinsley, Tom Wolf, etc.). People like that are on the board of the Lancaster-York Heritage Region that is behind the "park project."

Mitrick is involved in another group called York Counts that wants to consolidate and expand county government. One single school district, a county health department, a county human relations commission. This will make government bigger and less accountable to local people.

I report on York County news with a little weekly digest that can be found on my home page. This story is one that I follow closely.

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