[Durham INC] New Commissioner Karriker and 751 South debacle

[Melissa Rooney]

See Herald Sun article below.
When the issue comes up (and it will), I hope you will contact Commissioner Karriker with your concerns about the 751 South Project.

Melissa

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Herald Sun
Sept 30, 2011

Pam Karriker, Durham County’s newest commissioner, was sworn in on Wednesday, and immediately expressed two respectful and intelligent goals.

“My priority right now is to learn as much as I can, and get a good working relationship with the (other) county commissioners,” Karriker said.

Good luck to her.

Karriker’s election came on a 3-1 vote that might signal a rapprochement between Chairman Michael Page and Commissioner-and-Durham-mayoral candidate Joe Bowser, whose disagreement about politics on the Durham County Department of Social Services board has spilled over into the commissioners’ chamber.

But there’s another matter on which Page and Bowser agree, and it’s the one that will pose the toughest challenge to a new commissioner who’s seeking an education on county business.

The 751 South development project, a mixed-use residential and commercial project in the southern end of the county, near Jordan Lake, is buried under reams of legal paperwork at the moment.

The lawsuit alleges that Southern Durham Development Inc. and the county commissioners had no legal right to invalidate a petition protesting the development. The protest petition, if valid, would have required four of the five commissioners to approve the project. The project passed on a 3-2 vote — Ellen Reckhow, who remains on the board, and Becky Heron, whose resignation made room for Karriker, dissented.

The three commissioners who supported the development, Bowser, Page and Brenda Howerton, have made some jaw-dropping decisions about the 751 project in the past few weeks. Because it can’t be built without access to sewer and water, 751 South asked the city to annex the property and provide utilities. 

But when the Durham City Council decided to wait and watch the lawsuit, the county commissioners agreed to provide sewer — a decision that upsets a long-held understanding about which government provides services in which parts of the county.

Karriker is inheriting a mess. The pressure is immense and the gossip is even worse, suggesting in government office whispers that the new commissioner was selected to be a get-along candidate without elections as an incentive to make careful decisions.

If a judge vacates the zoning decision and sends the 751 South project back for another county vote, Bowser, Page and Howerton will depend on Karriker for the aye that makes the project go through.

That’s why Karriker’s statement of priorities was so striking, and why we offer one word of advice.: When you are spending the taxpayers’ dollars, it is more important to be well-informed than to be well-liked.

Read more: The Herald-Sun - Karriker s commission 

 
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/15838788/article-Karriker-s-commission?instance=hs_editorials
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