If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which clothes even fit me?
-The Clash
That was definitely the theme of the discussion Tuesday night at Davidson Town Hall around the fate/future of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission (LNTC).
Readers will remember that back in February, the LNTC was thrown into turmoil when Huntersville unilaterally decided to withdraw from the organization. That prompted similar withdrawals by Cornelius and Davidson to avoid being on the hook for more money to fund it.
At Tuesday's meeting Mayor John Woods and Commissioner Brian Jenest put on the hard sell for keeping the LNTC with Woods claiming it provides "expert" advise.
The great bulk of the funding for the body goes to pay the Executive Director's salary. Bill Thunberg currently fills that role. Thunberg is the former Mayor of Mooresville and a jeweler by trade. He is NOT a career transportation "expert".
In a long soliloquy which he certainly thought would support continuing the body, Commissioner Jenest instead described a body designed to fail when it comes to controversial projects like I77 HOT lanes - the most important transportation decision in the region since the creation of I77 itself. That's because the LNTC won't take a position on an issue unless it is unanimous.
According to Jenest, the LNTC was never intended to manage smaller issues for the individual towns.
That combination of ineffectiveness on large issues and non-inolvement on small issues should make commissioners seriously question any future funding for the body.
If the LNTC reconfigured as an actual planning body with paid professional staff, then splitting the cost among the towns would make sense.
Short of doing that, it's time for the indecision to stop and for the LNTC to go.
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