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PREFACE <br /> TO <br /> NOTICE OF CONCERN <br /> TO <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ORANGE COUNTY RECREATION AND PARKS DEPARTMENT <br /> BY <br /> CITIZENS OF RURAL ORANGE COUNTY <br /> Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners: <br /> A number of citizens, from rural Orange County have attended the <br /> recent series of "public hearings" on your Master Recreation and <br /> Parks Plan. The level . of attendance at these meetings is a <br /> result-'of: .community,.action. . Information was passed by telephone, <br /> personal ;contacts and - at church services. Sufficient to say that <br /> the attendance, . although not nearly great enough, far exceeded <br /> the 55 . that attended the four meetings held during the course of <br /> your "study". '(See page 5-2 of the Master Plan) . It seems qite <br /> obvious that the effort made by the staff of the Recreation u and Parks Department to inform the citizens of rural Orange County <br /> was the minimum necessary to 'comply with the law. <br /> Notice of meetings were published in the Orange County News <br /> (circulation unknown) . In view of the importance of this issue <br /> for the people, and their response at the recent hearings, it is <br /> certainly reasonable to assume that a deliberate effort was made <br /> to quickly complete a plan before any substantial opposition <br /> could be mustered. You seem to have no difficulty getting <br /> notices of tax increases, necessary to finance these sort of <br /> endeavors, to the property owners in rural Orange County. Why <br /> not use the same procedures in distributing tax increase notices <br /> that were used in advertizing public meetings for the Master Plan <br /> (i . e. , publish a small obscure notice in the Orange County News)? <br /> Only those who saw the notice should be required to pay the <br /> increase in taxes. <br /> At least a small number of people in rural Orange County have now <br /> had the opportunity to review your Master Plan, <br /> was <br /> because we were able to obtain a copy This is only <br /> meetings. Mary Anne Black was at one of the public <br /> cpies etin s. be generous enough to hand out two <br /> Passed around for review during the one hour meeting <br /> (attendance was approximately 75 to 100 people) ; but she insisted <br /> that she must have them back ! One was retained and a few copies <br /> have been reproduced and distributed to people in the rural <br /> townships. At least a small number of people now have had the <br /> opportunity to review it. <br /> The plan is an exercise in misinformation, <br /> conceived, poorly proposed, and It is poorly <br /> idealistic solution in search of a poor l y presented. I t: is an <br /> problem. It does not justify <br />