PUBLIC COMMENT:

-Susan Shick spoke about:
1) Audit - timely presentation appreciated (after 4 years of late audits that caused state to withhold tax revenues).
2) Independence - impact fee abatement agreement states that the county will remit/pay back all impact fees to developer for his cost to improve Rd. 158.
3) Request for county policy be written to ensure all future major developments require all documentation be made available to public at least 2 weeks before Planning Commission hearing and BOCC hearing (Independence information was not made available to public before public hearing).
4) Independence Special District Service plans be modified to ensure statutory obligations regarding major modifications be recognized as such. In the Independence Special District Servicer Plans, some modifications are currently exempted from being classified as material modifications when, in fact, they should be considered as material modifications, per state guidelines.
5) Concerns about a possible work stoppage at Independence; do commissioners have any knowledge of this?
6) Kevin Swanson, who gave the invocation at the June 26 BOCC meeting, is on record as saying there is Biblical justification to execute our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and those who support them (including Girl Scout leaders).
Commissioner Richardson responded by saying that it is “common practice” to handle the SIA as the county did.
-Rick Brown addressed the invocation by Kevin Swanson on 6/26/19 (who has been characterized as a homophobe due to his many public speeches against gays). LGBT citizens live in our county; the message sent from commissioners by allowing Swanson to speak is that these individuals aren’t valued. Why no pastors from mainline churches? Asked commissioners to re-evaluate invocation policy. The invocation is clearly part of the meeting, regardless of whether commissioners try to deny this in an effort to avoid accountability for allowing Kevin Swanson to speak at a BOCC meeting. Commissioner Richardson stated that the county “sent invitations to all the churches in the county” and “can’t control who responds to their invites.” Richardson believes it is “not the government’s role to make determinations” about people’s faith.