MARK GARDNER SHARES CURRENT DOUGLAS COUNTY NEWS

Douglas County Commissioner Mark Gardner joined the Rotary Club of Minden this past Thursday to give an update on a few of the projects happening in the county.  First, he shared his appreciation of the Rotary 4-way test:

1.  IS IT THE TRUTH?  Mr. Gardner always needs to consider whether the comments the Board receives are factual.

2.  IS IT FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED?  Is the item being considered biased or self-serving?

3.  WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?  Mr. Gardner tries to maintain civility and not take things personally.  His votes are not directed at another Commissioner but rather for or against an issue.

4.  WILL IT BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL CONCERNED?  While an admirable goal this is not always achievable in government. Unfortunately, there are times when an issue will not benefit everyone. 

Mr. Gardner then shared some insight on 3 current projects:

1.  Justice Center - over 1000 responses were received from residents regarding the courthouse architectural renderings, and they chose the most popular design.  The new Justice Center will be built on part of the 57 acres acquired on Buckeye and may eventually consolidate most county offices with the Court House being just one part.  He noted that the current JLEC Center was built in 1982 when there were only 19,000 residents.  With 50,000 current residents, the courthouse is “bulging at the seams” and this issue needs to be addressed.

2.  Douglas County Economic Development & Conservation Act (also known as the Lands Bill) would allow Douglas County to be granted 7,777 acres of lands currently held by BLM mostly on the east side of the county with the main purpose of working on flood mitigation.  This includes 600 acres immediately adjacent to the fairgrounds which would accommodate an outdoor recreation and cultural center. Hopefully this will pass both sides of Congress this calendar year.

3.  The Muller Parkway project, a concept on the books since the 1960s, was supposed to be started this past May with an agreement that states the project will be completed by December of 2025.  Douglas County has been allocating funds each year and currently has the necessary funds set aside for this project for completion of this project. The injunction filed by Park Ranch Holdings is the current hold up.  A question was asked about the term “bypass” and Mr. Gardner clarified that since trucks will not be allowed on the Parkway, it should not be considered a by-pass.  By forcing trucks to stay on the current 395, the heavy road usage by trucks will remain an NDOT maintenance issue rather than a burden to Douglas County.