***When I watched the primary ballot develop back in August, like every one else who is interested, I watched for names of those I thought should run, those I hoped would run as well as those who… well, never mind.
I watched for Jim Carr’s name on the slot for supervisor of Rutland Township. He’s said before other elections that he might not run again, that, “there are plenty of others who can do the job,” but in the end, he did.
Not this time.
I asked him why and he said, “It’s time. Enough is enough.”
Jim is not your average public servant. Let alone politician, which he would probably tell you is a good thing. He has a quick, biting sense of humor which is wickedly funny, but no doubt a little too close to its target sometimes.
But, he shares a valuable trait with the late David Jasperse.
He has no personal agenda, he is willing to work when everyone else has gone home, give up parts to keep the whole, and keep working to get something worth keeping.
And what he, and others like him, especially Hastings City Manager Jeff Mansfield, wanted to keep has taken years. Their passion was a simple concept that is almost impossible to achieve, and getting there is not that exciting to the average Barry County citizen.
Controlling growth.
Most don’t care that much about planning or zoning until a neighbor intrudes on their space or they want something outside the rules. But planning and zoning is much bigger than that. Jim, and other like-minded officials knew, if they stayed with it, they could make Barry County a better place to live for its residents for generations.
He, and many, many others, worked with each other and officials from other townships and the county, across jurisdictional lines, to put together the framework to keep commercial and industrial businesses in specific areas and provide Hastings city services.
The overall goal is to encourage commercial development and at the same time prevent urban sprawl from taking up precious rural lands and destroying the natural environment Barry County residents have said they prize in every poll taken over the last 30 years.
Those in community planning and economic development recognize the value of controlled expansion. To do it, groups, alliances and committees were formed with acronyms that made explaining what was being done even more difficult.
Joint Planning Committee (JPC) changed to Joint Planning Alliance (JPA), Preliminary Initial Urban Services Area (PIUSA), Urban Services and Economic Development Agreement (USEDA) to say nothing of the Urban Services Agreement (USA), Joint Overlay Ordinance (JOO), Joint Master Plan (JMP) are just some of the acronyms. I don’t think the Hastings Joint Future Land Use Plan has one. What do all of the initials even mean?
Lawyers parsed every word of every proposal, draft proposal, proposed agreement, draft agreement, proposed contracts and draft contracts, then again after changes were made. And, lawyers cost money, always a consideration for officials on government boards. Township boards and city councils are elected positions, and the make-up of boards often change, sometimes presenting more challenges.
The sustained, years long effort is quite a tribute to city, township and county official’s ability to work together over the long haul on a common goal, which is very rare.
Maybe, Jim thinks with the guidelines firmly set, the first Urban Services District a reality, the second district validated, and a third agreement being ratified, the committees, alliances and boards will continue to keep the concept a reality without him.
There are a lot of good people working on it, so he would probably be right.
The good news is that he will keep up with township planning as zoning administrator at the request of Rutland’s new Supervisor Larry Watson.
“Just because I won’t be supervisor, doesn’t mean I don’t care about the township,” he said.
“I do.”
Jean Gallup
Photo: Former Rutland Township Supervisor Jim Carr.
