I became interested in the Kimball Planning Commission when Keith Markwardt from the State Bank of Kimball approached the Kimball Area Chamber of Commerce at their monthly meeting. Keith presented an idea of how a planning commission, with the right people, could work with the city council to look into the future of the City of Kimball. We had a very enthusiastic group discussion on how the planning commission could play an important and positive role in the growth of our community. We discussed the need for representation from the surrounding townships and the school district as they play an important role in the growth of our community. It was also brought up during our discussion that establishing a planning commission was one of the five goals that came out of Kimball’s work with the Initiative Foundation and the Healthy Communities Partnership Program in 1999. Representatives from the Chamber attended the next city council meeting to present the idea of a planning commission. The city council decided they were interested in pursuing the possibilities, and they sent out a flyer the early part of December asking people to apply. The flyer stated you must be a city resident to apply for the planning commission, and you had to submit a resume and a letter on your views for the future growth of Kimball. I was very interested in applying and, after much discussion and encouragement by other community members, my husband Dan and I both decided to apply, hoping one of us would be selected. Our children have all graduated from school, and we have extra time we wish to devote to our community. My husband Dan served on the Kimball City Council for 14 years, and I served on the Kimball Public Schools Board of Education for 10 years, where we both served on various committees. We have lived in our present home for 26 years and we both, as well as our six children, graduated from the Kimball schools. We are members of the St. Anne’s Church where we are very active. Dan has worked for Dairiconcepts for 28 years where he is in management. I have driven school bus for 19 years for my family-owned business. I felt with our background in understanding government finances and knowing people in the community that one of us could contribute our time, our familiarity with the community’s history, and just some positive ideas for our children and grandchildren. My mother Joann Hendricks, a long-time community member and graduate of the Kimball schools, decided she would be interested in applying for the planning commission. She is a business person of a family-owned business of 54 years in the City of Kimball. She could contribute a business person’s perspective on the planning commission. She knows what a small business needs to survive in our community and has a drive to see our community prosper. I knew she had decided to apply after Dan and I had already decided to do so. I was upset to read in the Dec. 25, 2003, Tri-County News that the council had reviewed the planning commission’s applications, and because three people from our family applied they felt it was a conflict of interest. I was shocked to read in this week’s paper that the city council was concerned that most of the applicants who applied had a set agenda for the city! If caring for your community and wanting to see only the best happen for future generations is a set agenda, I’m probably guilty. To my knowledge, nobody who applied for the planning commission was ever interviewed or talked to by anyone on the city council. Six citizens came forth to make a commitment to our city, and we were not even given the courtesy of a phone call or letter regarding the status of our applications. The fact that we had to find out the fate of our applications through local conversation or the Kimball newspaper is very disheartening. There was no intention of monopolizing the planning commission because there was no way to know that three individuals would constitute half of the applicant pool. Construing the sincere concern for the future of our community by three people who happen to be from the same family as a “conflict of interest” is a blatant excuse to avoid a legitimate application process. Unfortunately, the city council has shown us what really “having an agenda” is, and this truly is a “conflict of interest.” I would like to encourage the Kimball City Council to continue pursuing this idea. If the planning commission is done right, Kimball can only benefit. The planning commission needs to be a committed group of people who are willing to put a lot of time and effort into our community’s future planning. It cannot be done in a short time. It needs a commitment of many years. People need to understand they are not making decisions for the council, but recommendations to the council. I would also like to encourage more Kimball citizens to apply for this position if it ever comes up again. To me, only six people applying for this opportunity was disappointing. A citizen who cares about her community, Tammy Konz
