Letter: Woodbury did the right thing for taxpayers

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 | 8:48 a.m.

When Commissioners Myrna Williams, Mary Kincaid Chauncey, Erin Kenny and Dario Herrera voted to change the master plan to allow 300 homes to be built under the flight path of aircraft leaving McCarran, they didn't have us taxpayers in mind.

That change means taxpayers have to pay some $3 million to buy land for a school site. That doesn't make sense.

And how can habitable homes be built in that deafening flight path? They could shake apart and any buyers would endanger their health -- mental and physical. They could even bring class action suits against the county for creating such a noisy area in the first place. Most likely, no intelligent person would buy homes there.

The Sun's Dec. 8 editorial, "Planning is a facade in county," made this clear. And thanks for telling us this same commission spent more than $56 million to remove homes from the flight path.

You also made clear our taxpayers' champion, Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, was a minority of one against this disgraceful vote. He had good sense and had us taxpayers in mind when he so voted. He also showed persistence in our cause, asking reconsideration of the vote in January after Kenny and Herrera are out of office so that newly elected commissioners can vote in their place.

If Commissioners Williams and Kincaid Chauncey vote in January to again approve the building of homes under a flight path, they'll hear from many thousands of us taxpayers at that time -- and also when they're up for re-election. Woodbury is right in asking the newly elected commissioners to vote with him next January.

PAUL LARSEN