We want to stress that the order of these projects isn't set in stone. The list is an estimate, and after annual inventory of streets, priorities will change.

I would typify this as under construction. Hopefully by May 2 we will have what we hope will be the final shape.

A lot of people believe that when they pay that 2 percent to Columbus, we're getting some of it, but that's not the case. The 0.3-percent does stay here. Any additional income created by an income-tax increase will be a redistribution of what's already being paid. A resident wouldn't owe any more money to Columbus.

It's interesting that while we have one of the lowest income-tax rates in the area, the effective rate for those living and working here is one of the highest, and we need to change that.

We have to have very good information to sustain these projects. In order to get a program in effect and sustain it and defend it, we need to know what the predator-prey relationship is and what it's doing. We need to know how the control program is affecting bears and wolves. We need to know what happens after the program ends.

My comments at that time were based upon some projects that were coming forward that, when you read the projects and read the proposals and the staff reports, it made you wonder who was driving the long-range planning, ... Were we waiting for developers to come forward with a plan or were we stepping forward with a vision of our own?