What Kind of Grown-Up?

Mike,

Darn good thoughts.  It reminded me of the movie on AMC, "In The Line of Fire."  Clint Eastwood fan, here.  In the movie, John Malkovitch, while in costume, meets with a group of businessmen/political fund raisers.  He says the line, "The average American company thinks ahead to the next financial quarter.  The average Japanese company thinks into the next quarter of a century."  A good idea, regardless where it comes from, still remains a good idea.  It wouldn't hurt us to start thinking smart, into the future.  It appears that we haven't been doing enough of it.  JATFUR.

RichK

Mike excellent points and done with a great writing style. I see you have reviewed your sensitivity manual.

I can't understand when they do a Comprehensive Growth Plan and it will be extending out to 2025. Then they have already approved developments extending out to what are they are working on now 2020. Not to even mention the urban sprawl of the Highlands project.

Yet when it comes to transportation needs those dates exceed reality and are just a dream. According to some of the Commissioners.

I think we should reverse the addition of rooftops as the dreams, and make the transportation the reality.

Somebody needs to wake up our Commissioners or get some new ones in there. If not that dream will be the future traffic nightmares we are already having now.

Glad to see your interest!

Mike M.

Well said. I support your perspective and would add not only do we need a "grown-up" plan, it needs to be shared with other adults in the community like the MPO and the North Florida Regional Planning Council.

I can share with you that the Clay County Quality of Life Transportation Visioning Committee has authored a vision for our future and it includes indicators which will tell us if we're close to achieving our transportation wish list. I hope you will give it your consideration when the report is released.

Karen Lake

Karen, I'd love to read the QOL Committee's report on transportation.  Got an ETA on the release date?  Please let me know when I can get a copy.

I got a chance to read the QOL survey's individal responses instad of the the compiled data.  It's obvious that transportation and the county's traffic problems are major concerns among the respondents.

When the transportation committee was visioning, how far into the future did you guys look?  Did you talk about the Clay County of 2100, and how to coordinate the shorter-term plans, like the rites of passage to adulthood, it will take to get us there?  Were you able to discuss how to prioritize maintenance of existing roads along with the expansion of the road system?  How about mass transportation?  Anyone figure out how to make Capt. Kirk's transporter viable?

I agree with one of Harold's comments at the BCC meeting.  We need to look 100 years ahead and start reserving area where we'll need roads, because it's not financially feasible to build houses now where we'll need roads later.

That's the perspective Clay County government needs for growth planning.  And then, like you say, Karen, it needs to be shared with those around us.  If they understand our long-term plans, then they'll be more likely to participate in shorter-term - 5-, 10- or 20-year - plans.

Michael S. Mann

michaelsmann@comcast.net

Thanks Mike for the information provided about the QOL survey and the facts that transportation and the county's traffic problems are major concerns among the respondents. I got blasted for expressing those same sentiments just recently. It was called whining.

It is the same major complaints I get from the people who I talk to on a daily basis. If you are a commuter and work in Jax with other county residents you would better understand how that has become a serious deterrent to people who might want to locate here. A major reason many have left and others would like too. The next major concern is the continuing increase in the cost to commute with the gas prices, and the wages not increasing in line with those cost. 

When you go in for your annual evaluation and pay increase the people who live in Jax are getting the same salaries. Yet those who commute are not being compensated because of the increase cost of driving and their choice to live in Clay County. I don't see that cost as going down anytime soon. Those cost are being passed on to the consumers in many ways and not just our cost of gas. This then encroaches upon your entire QOL in Clay County.

Mike M.,

The QOL study is due in July. Each of the nine sub-committees have been meeting individually with JCCI to finalize their vision, the indicators which will track progress of the vision and some strategies to achieve the vision.

Please understand, this is the first effort of this kind in Clay County and it's visioning at a 10,000-foot level which means the vision has to be broad enough to blanket the quality of life issue but not so specific that every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed. The vision deals with all "mobility" facets of moving around Clay County. It's a different way of perceiving long-held perceptions of what transportation is and has been.

The working transportation vision is (but is subject to change):

"Clay County provides an efficient transportation system which safely, conveniently and effectively serves the travel needs of all residents, visitors and businesses. It offers a variety of modes of transportation choices and the transportation infrastructure to support the development of a growing employment base. Transportation needs are coordinated regionally and benefit all Clay County residents and businesses."

It more than adequately defines the indicators which must be tracked in order to measure progress but it's purpose is not to rank which roads get paved and which ones don't because right now, if you live on a dirt road in Clay County, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that it's going to be unpaved for a long time unless you and your neighbors want to pull together and create an MSTU. I think more than one commissioner would probably agree to that statement as well.

I agree with Commissioner Rutledge, too. Mobility "hubs" should be identified now before anymore rooftops are added.

Karen Lake

I know some of you won't agree with me on this one, but, here goes.

Most of the problems in America we face today are because we have a tendency to be short sighted.  Not just in growth, but in everything, everywhere.

I remember reading, several years ago, an article by the then head of the Hyundai corporation and how he felt that Hyundai should have a plan for the future.  Over ten years Hyundai developed a 500 year plan.  I know that seems ridiculous.  In their plan they took into account that oil would be depleted, and if they planned on making automobiles, they had better look for another source of energy to power them.  They looked at the electrical grid and knew that it would have to be greatly strengthened in the future, so they diversified.  In short, Hyundai in the last few years has diversified into a company that is ready for the future.  They are solving the problems of tomorrow today.  They cannot fix what is already in motion, but they can be ready for the next step. Google Hyundai corporation and see for yourself.

Now, back to the US today.  We have known for 20 years that Clay needed roads, but built none.  We have known for years that we have needed schools, but have not done anything to get ready to build them.  We don't have the money to build them, so we use a Certificate of Participation to build them without passing a bond issue.  Which probably wouldn't pass if put before the people.   Hold that thought for a minute.   People move to an area mathematically ( 1+1+1), but infrastructure increases geometrically  (2+4+8).  So in order to be ready for growth, the infrastructure should be in place before the rooftops, right??   Not gonna happen!!!  We are too short sighted to do this because the people causing the growth don't want anything to do with having to provide the infrastructure.  Oh, they make token payments, like give the land for a new school to be built.  

The US has had really short sighted views in foreign policy.  We have known there were serious issues in the middle east since the creation of Israel.  We have been getting our oil from the Mideast since the 30's, so we should have realized we had some issues to deal with.  Instead we sat on our backsides watched the  1967 6 days war, and failed to realize that we were headed for an energy crunch.  It came in 1973, after the Yom Kippur war.  Oil was cut off to any country who defended Israel.   OPEC realizes they might not have military power, but they do have the power of oil.  I remember sitting in line for hours to get 5 gallons of gasoline.  The rest is history, even to $4 a gallon gas this summer.

The current issues with Social Security are because our government was short sighted in dealing with previous budget crunches.  They borrowed from the trust fund and left IOU's.   Now we are told social security won't be solvent in a few years.  The bean counters warned in the 70's there was a potential shortfall.  We should have been shoring up Social Security in the 70's and 80's and especially the booming 90's.  Social Security will run in the red for about 30 years, and then all us old guys are going to die off, and the fund will then be solvent again.  It's just a blip, but since we didn't prepare for it, and it's a large looming issue. 

Until we start looking at the long range picture, at least 100 years, as a nation we will continue to have problems like the ones mentioned here.

What an understatement.

Over ten years Hyundai developed a 500 year plan.  I know that seems ridiculous. 

The only ridiculous thing about this is that we can hardly look 500 days into the future. It seems to be the 'ugly American' instant gratification syndrome.

One of the greatest manufacturing leaders in the US had to take his ideas overseas to get any recognition. W Edwards Deming did more for Japanese manufacturing than any other person. He did this because they listened while the US couldn't take time to worry about anything further out than the next quarter.

Mike Heemer