The Loss of a Good Man, Indeed!

When former planning commission member Mike Merritt announced his resignation recently, City Manager Gary Person was shocked.

Hardly. Merritt was one of the few people to serve on the Planning Commission who did his best to make sure the city plan adhered to the codes in place. Time and again, Merritt confided in me that he was in stark disagreement with what certain members of Gary's inner circle of friends who have recently overtaken the planning commission thought was the, "new" way to go for the town.


The planning commission, clearly lopsided to Gary Person's way of thinking now is working with the new big three in order to force color schemes for shipping containers and to restrict their use inside the downtown area. Of course they also have the backing of city inspector Jim Pelster (an inspector who consequently cannot perform many of his own inspections, by the way).

The people who are utilizing these containers are doing so because it costs them less to do business when compared to other forms of storage. The city is mad because they don't get to charge building permit fees and increase business valuations and therefore confiscatory fees that drive business into the county or out of state.

Regulating the containers might not be so bad, except for the special case exceptions. These exceptions will most likely go to friends of the powerful, just like health care waivers went to Obama's faithful. Mike Merritt was a lot like Bob Van Vleet. He said yes when the task was in accordance with the overall intent of the plan. When it went against what he believed were principled views, he voted against those measures.

It is a bad thing when decent men such as Mike Merritt and Bob Van Vleet are labeled by Gary's hatchet men as anti-progressive. These men should wear this badge with honor. To be anti-progressive means to resist the beautification police, to resist laws that are meant to enhance one company at the expense of the others in town, and certainly it means that there are people who are willing to make a principled stand.

I call Gary a snake charmer and I think I need to apologize. He is really a sycophant who has a bunch of people who keep him around, so long as they can benefit from his good graces. It is a filthy den of iniquity. The payoffs and back scratching should be obvious to all. Didn't Dave McCarville have the sole, no bid contract at one time for the city insurance? Interesting how he also gets to be a member of the planning commission.

How truly sad it is for the rest of the people in town who have to put up with the continued Stepfordization of Sidney. How tragic indeed that the little minions of Gary have to reach out and defend the indefensible. How sad indeed.