Opportunity for public comment

for what it's worth

The Ozarks Transportation Organization is inviting public comment regarding "amendments to the 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)."

Among the amendments:

"The City of Springfield is requesting TIP amendments for enhancement projects. The City of Springfield was awarded enhancement funds for the Jordan Valley Car Park and is now requesting to re-appropriate those funds to other enhancement projects in the City of Springfield."

For more information:

"The amendments will be available for review at Ozarks Transportation Organization, 840 Boonville Ave., 3rd Floor. Comments may be submitted* in writing to the Ozarks Transportation Organization, PO Box 8368, 840 Boonville, Springfield, MO 65801 or e-mail to sedwards@ozarkstransportation.org or fax to (417) 864-1881."

The comment period began yesterday, February 19 and continues through Thursday the 28th.

More from the news release:

"The MPO Board of Directors will review and possibly approve the amendments at its February 28, 2008 meeting to be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the fourth floor conference room of the Busch Municipal Building, 840 Boonville Ave. An opportunity for public comment will be available at this meeting*. After reviewing recommendations and public comment, the MPO Board of Directors will decide whether to formally adopt the amendments."

So, for what it's worth, you can weigh in on the city's amendments. There's no guarantee of how seriously your comments will be taken but if you want to weigh in, now's the time to do it and if you don't, well, it's sorta like if you don't vote in an election, your right to complain doesn't go away but you probably ought to do more than that. Decisions aren't made in a vacuum, they don't just happen.

And, by the way, did you know anyone can sign up for news releases from the City? Just go here, look at the bottom of the yellow box on the right hand side of the web page, at the bottom of the yellow box is a link to subscribe via email to news releases from the city.

And, for the record, I'm not necessarily suggesting there is anything wrong with the city wanting "to re-appropriate those funds to other enhancement projects in the City of Springfield" by singling that amendment out but people wonder how these things happen. This is one of the ways these things happen.

*emphasis mine