Sedgwick County going its own way

It might be time to assess the value Sedgwick County is getting for its dues and other participation in the Regional Economic Area Partnership, a council of 28 local governments in nine counties that has fostered communication, cooperation and trust on issues of common concern since 1997.

Instead, the Sedgwick County Commission took up an off-agenda item Wednesday and abruptly voted 3-2 to pull out of REAP. A more formal resolution still must be passed, but the troubling message was delivered – that Sedgwick County is going its own way and no longer interested in being a strategic regional partner on economic development, workforce development, transportation, water quality and quantity, and more.

Though Butler and Sumner counties also have left REAP, they aren’t home to the state’s most populous city and the region’s primary employers.

It was especially disappointing that new Commissioner Jim Howell, the immediate past chairman of the south-central Kansas legislative delegation, failed to appreciate the power of speaking with one strong, regional voice in Topeka – something REAP has done effectively with its unified legislative agenda. That approach has been vital to the area’s success in maintaining state support for aviation training and research, affordable air service, and medical education.

But because “I don’t get anything out of REAP,” as Commission Chairman Richard Ranzau put it, that’s that.

Of course, the real impetus to flee REAP was on the agenda – a resolution, which also passed 3-2, condemning a $1.5 million federal sustainable communities grant administered by REAP since 2012. The project is nearly over, and Commissioner Dave Unruh said there is no plan to extend the grant or ask for federal money to implement the resulting plan.

So it might seem the resolution was valuable mostly as the opportunity it gave commissioners Wednesday to criticize President Obama and the United Nations’ so-called Agenda 21 – with Ranzau contending sustainable development is “an attack on an American way of life, a Trojan horse for socialism.”

But the resolution treats any information or ideas that might come out of the sustainability planning process as radioactive, barring it from influencing planning or policymaking. Nor can public funds under the commission’s control be used to “implement, support, promote, advocate for or participate in any future effort related to the work product” of the sustainability grant.

REAP’s planning project involved extensive interviews and surveys of area residents, business owners, government leaders and other stakeholders. It identified challenges facing this region, what cities and counties are doing to address those challenges, and how the region could be more effective through increased cooperation and planning.

Why wouldn’t commissioners consider what these stakeholders had to say and support the ideas that make sense for Sedgwick County, rather than dismissing the entire effort as a U.N. conspiracy?

That’s just dumb and wasteful, especially at a time of limited resources that make regionalism and partnerships crucial to economic survival in a global economy. Yet that’s what now passes for leadership at the County Commission.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Sedgwick County going its own way."