Infrastructure improvements require planning, budgeting, execution, timeliness, and leadership.
Planning is the process of spending limited financial resources over time based on priorities and with an eye to the future of our county. So far, the Route 15 widening project has had 18 months of planning and 20+ years of studies. Yet according to Supervisor Higgins, it is not yet time to ask County Staff to put together a project plan to move the work forward. He is still stuck in “community outreach” mode.
Budgeting is the process of allocating those limited resources towards projects that “leadership” views as a priority for our county. By continuing to drag his feet on moving the project forward, Supervisor Higgins is risking the NVTA reallocating funds currently designated to Route 15 towards other projects with more concrete plans and timelines. If our project is not moved forward, the money will find a project that IS ready. This has been part of the special interests’ game plan for years – prevent money being allocated by demanding continuous studies.
Executing is the process of aligning the plan and the budget to acquire, expand and enhance an infrastructure project. We have the money. We have approval from the Board of Supervisors. The only thing we don’t have at this point, is execution on the part of Supervisor Higgins to move the project on to the execution phase.
Timeliness is having a “sense of urgency” to address a rapidly deteriorating situation. We at FixRoute15Now.com do not expect to have bulldozers on the road just weeks after project green lighting. However, after NVTA funding was approved in June, a Supervisor with a sense of urgency would have been moving forward with creating a robust project plan in anticipation of the project being approved. Such a Supervisor would most certainly have such a plan ready at the next Stakeholders meeting on October 22. We shall see if Supervisor Higgins has such a sense of urgency or if he just wants to continue to talk while accomplishing nothing.
Leadership is having the courage to stand up for what is right and saying “NO MORE” to the special interest no growth groups who have blocked and delayed safety improvements along Route 15 for decades. Failing to protect our residents, families, and children by continuing to have “public input sessions” or by considering deferring this project back to the Transportation and Land Use Committee (TLUC), as Supervisor Higgins has recently suggested, is not “leadership” – it is just an excuse to avoid making hard decisions.
We urge anyone who desires Route 15 to be fixed to contact Supervisor Higgins and demand that he move this project forward. Demand that he instruct County Staff to create a project plan with an expedited timeline. NOT 10 YEARS!! Do not think that this project is a done deal or relax your vigilance. The special interests are not stopping their campaign, and neither should we. Keep in mind that by doing nothing and continuing to play public perception games rather than moving forward to design and execution, Supervisor Higgins is risking losing the funding for the project.
FIX ROUTE 15 NOW!!!