Important Rock County Meeting!!

EXPIRED BULLETIN
From: ROCK ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK

Where: Rock County Courthouse
When: Wednesday, Nov.5th, 2008 beginning at 6:00 PM

Dear Trail and Parks fans -

The American Transmission Company (ATC) is building a power line through Rock County. ATC is required to pay Rock County a one-time fee of $1.8 million for the environmental impact. By state statute, that money is to be used for parks and conservation efforts. There is, however, a provision that allows the County Administer to apply to the Public Service Commission for a waiver of use, allowing that money to be used for other public purposes. This waiver has already been attained.

Today was the Rock County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee meeting with the proposed budget on the agenda.
The proposed budget from the County Administrator suggests using this $1.8M roughly in the following manner.

$600.000 for a one time off setting of the 2009 County Parks operations budget

$161,000 for a one time off setting of the 2009 Land Conservation Department budget

$600,000 for a one time off setting of Human Services within the county government

$500,000 in miscellaneous capital improvement projects within the county government

There are other uses for this money.

We, as advocates for the parks system and conservation efforts, would like to see more of that money go to its intended uses – parks, conservation and wetlands. The power lines will be here forever (or close to it) and we would like to ensure that the parks and green space is also taken care of for just as long.
This is a one-time chance. If the money is lost to the general operating expenses instead of parks development, maintenance, land acquisition, etc., it will be lost forever.

This is where you come in! The next meeting to discuss the budget is at the public hearing on Wednesday, November 5th at 6pm at the Rock County Courthouse, in the Board of Supervisors’ 4th floor meeting room. At this meeting, anyone is able to speak to the Board of Supervisors. The board will not comment or vote that evening. This is a listening session. A few of us representing our organizations will speak.

You do not need to speak, however you will sign in when you arrive, and you can indicate on the sign-in sheet that you support the proposal to use the $1.8 million for its intended environmental, conservation and parks purposes.

What we are asking is that you attend this meeting. We need a lot of people (bring all your friends and neighbors!) there in support of leaving this money in the parks system.

· We have several knowledgeable people who will speak.

· What we need each and every one of you to do is sign in and comment that you are there in support of leaving the money in the parks on the sign up sheet but do not wish to speak. (If you really want to speak, you can; just be brief, positive and to the point).

· During one of the presentations, everyone who is there in support of the parks will be asked to stand up.

We hope that by seeing a lot of public support the county board will consider voting to leave most, if not all, of this money where it was intended to be.
You can also contact your county board supervisor and request that they support our position. Call your county board supervisor and ask for their vote. Look up your supervisor here.

There are 29 supervisors. We only need 15 votes out of 29. Supervisors respond to positive supportive requests.

Please be there.
Thank You.