Mark Smith: Don't forget the road less traveled

Published: March 30, 2010

Article Tools
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
Sign Up newsletter

One road less traveled in our county is to recognize the efforts of so many who work on the citizens' behalf in relation to the developing natural gas industry. Instead we regularly see certain politicians substitute "I" for "we" in an effort to put a few points on the score board of local political gamesmanship.

It is important to proudly state that we, as commissioners, have not worked on gas related issues by ourselves. It takes more than one person or one commissioner. We as elected officials, government workers, university staff, associations and members of the community have been working on the gas industry issues for two years. Many, including all three commissioners, have given long days and many nights to do their best with limited resources to help fellow residents and each other learn about the growth of the gas industry in our county.

It is time to recognize the efforts of those who work tirelessly on gas related issues in our county and region:

Thank you to Penn State Cooperative Extension and our local Conservation District for helping educate our residents. Over the last few years they have held many public educational opportunities in relation to this industry both as partners to the county and on their own.

Thank you to the members of the Bradford County Natural Gas Advisory Board which includes residents, county employees, township supervisors, various members of the business community, agricultural community, emergency responders and economic development agents. Many members are giving time out of their days on a purely voluntary basis.

Thank you to the Central Bradford Progress Authority, Northern Tier Regional Planning and local chambers of commerce. These are small operations, some covering several counties and communities. They are working diligently to develop local business opportunities within the worldwide multi-billion dollar natural gas industry.

Thank you to our local state agencies such as the State Police and PennDot. It should be stated that they are working under extreme pressures with limited resources as this major industry develops in our county. With all the truck traffic and road issues we have faced we cannot lay fault on these local individuals, many our neighbors, who are struggling with limited staff and funding to meet community expectations.

Thank you to our county employees, especially those in the Register and Recorder's office who are swamped every day with gas related title and deed searchers. Thanks to all those in emergency management, planning, assessment, courts and probation, treasurer, prothonotary, sheriff's office, district attorney and the public defender's office. To those working in the field of Human Services who see the best and worst of our own humanity on a daily basis, Thank You.

Hopefully this broad list illustrates the far reach the development of the natural gas has on our county and its services. It shows the immense work being done by so many, some of whom do not get paid for their efforts. Hopefully citizens and other elected officials realize the immense growth and development we are engaged in and appreciate ongoing and past efforts of many others.

This growth affects us all and it will affect our local property taxes with absolute certainty. There are costs and problems that will come along with economic opportunity and development. Common sense and past study dictate that social and infrastructure costs will follow increased population and industrial development. Emergency services, law enforcement, social services and yes; road maintenance will require more staffing and financial resources.

I encourage residents to contact state officials, including the governor's office, to lobby for local revenue for their local governments. A local share of a tax or impact fee on gas is an absolute necessity for our developing region.

Road damage is the crisis of the moment and it is a serious issue. However, it's only one in a long list of issues we as elected officials should be working on; and some of us are. If an elected official is somehow surprised by the road problems and needs a "road tour" at this late stage then it can be assumed they are out of touch and that they should have been listening long ago.

Appearing before Senator Gene Yaw's Policy Committee a year ago, in April of 2009, I stated..."One of the more significant problems local governments face is the stress the industry has on our roads and bridges. The majority of roads in our townships were never built to withstand the heavy and constant truck traffic …one well drilling operation may involve over one thousand truck loads." I am not the only one who stated this case; many others have issued similar warnings and statements. Action from state officials in relation to roads has been non-existent until a political crisis erupted and still, even now, antiquated laws and regulations remain in place and unchanged.

As we move forward we need to recognize the resources we all have, we need work to obtain the resources we still require and above all we have to work together.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Democrat Mark Smith is chairman of the Bradford County commissioners.

Ads by Yahoo!






Type in the characters you see in the picture below. If you have trouble reading the characters in the picture, click it to see a new one.



20 posted comments

I looked at the testimonty Smith gave in 2009, he said this

"Even at the early stages of development the effects are apparent and issues arise at a constant pace in some form or another. The social, economic, environmental and infrastructure impacts of the industry are well documented in other places across the country. It can be expected here."

I searched for it using "smith senate testimony marcellus shale" on google and found it on his blog. I think he may have been talking to an audience that didn't want to hear it. that includes many of us. But he did say it a long time ago and here we are. I don't see how we can blame the kid for trying way back when nobody believed him.

Report  (Reported!)
he tried to tell us,  04/01/10 3:52
Rolland and funny, You both bring up valid points. While I don't have the article(s) right in front of me, the commissioners did minimize the negative impacts of the industry after their tour... and although they didn't directly say it, they did give us the impression that all would be fine. Smith appears to be heading in the right direction, while Sullivan remains mute, Mclinko continues to deny that the industry is a problem, and Pickett, Rendell, and Yaw beat around the bush.
Sad.
Report
Paul,  04/01/10 1:31
After Mark and Doug went to Texas they came back and said everything would be great when gas drilling started. They even paraded some commissioner from Texas around to say that crime wouldn't go up and everything would be candy and flowers. Must be Mark and Doug took the gas drilling tour of wise county TX. Funny how Mark is now changing his tune. and Sad that Doug is not.
Report
funny if it weren't sad,  04/01/10 1:52
Two years ago Mark Smith was minimizing the negative impact of gas drilling on our area, just like Doug McLinko. Now Mark is the champion of social issues and infrastructure problems caused by gas drilling. Obviously Mark knows how to hold his finger in the wind to find out which way the wind is blowing and even more of a master of jumping in front of the wind and saying he is leading the charge. I would like to see a commissioner who will do there job without trying to promote themselves so darn much in the process. Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with what he is saying "now". But maybe less time trying to convince us he should be doing Tina Pickett's job and more time doing his own job would be greatly admired.
Report
Rolland,  04/01/10 1:48
What about thanking the 911 center for taking the calls for the car accidents that have occured because of these roads.
Report
Been there,  03/31/10 1:15
Hear Hear Commissioner Smith!! Well said. It seems the Commissioners are easy targets for frustrated and angry residents of Bradford County. Some fail to realize that the State and Federal Government continue to mandate the services local governments are required to provide, all the while cutting our funding for those services. I wish the Daily Review would start printing the phone numbers and email addresses of our Federal and State representatives so we can complain to someone who actually has the power to give us back some of the tax dollars we are required to pay. The roads will be the least of our worries in a few years when our ground water is contaminated, housing is so expensive the generations of residents can no longer afford to live here and the hunting and fishing we love so much is gone because the wildlife can not sustain it self because our land is ruined. Commissioner McLinko is not alone in his quest to schmooze the gas companies. Pickett, Yaw and Rendell come to mind. The saving grace in all of this is WE have the power to remove from office the elected officials who have forgotten who put them there. The gas company may make big donations to their campaigns, but all the money in the world won't get you re-elected if you don't work for the CITIZENS who elected you. I would like to thank the two Commissioners who have continued to govern to the best of their ability by what is best for the County regardless of political affiliation. Shame on the other Commissioner for his constant Grand Standing. You have developed a reputation for "all talk and no action" and it will be remembered on the next election.
Report
Sad,  03/31/10 7:58
Mark,
Well written with much gratitude to others around Bradford County, Thank you for keeping on your toes for all of us.
Report
Sylvia Ellis,  03/31/10 7:29
Thank you for finally fixing your website. I've wanted to comment on this article and couldn't get through so late as it is, I will leave my thoughts. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines and realize that Commissioner Smith is fed up with the "I" mentality of his fellow Minority Commissioner McLinko and sees it for what it is---self-serving political rhetoric. Some things never change and the ego of Doug McLinko is one of them. I, for one, will be a Republican for Smith in the next election cycle. He has shown professionalism and foresight in over 2 years in office and I admire the way he handles himself in the political nature of the position. Keep up the good work, Mark, and please get someone to fix these roads!
Report
Republican,  03/30/10 11:49
Find a contemporary that spends as much time and genuine effort looking to do the right thing for Bradford Co. - as does Mark Smith - and we ought to add them to the board of commissioners. As it is, without changing my affiliation, I eagerly await the next general election in which I can vote for Mark Smith. He's on the ball.
Report
Chil Pill,  03/30/10 8:57
It's a good idea. Roads with ruts so deep only trucks can operate need to be closed until cars can pass through easily. I'll bet those roads would not be closed for long. Repairs would happen so fast your head would spin.

No Republican in Bradford County would agree with this idea. They protect those who are paying them and don't care about the common person. But the Democrats should stand up for the people, and this approach would end up helping the people. If not this, God knows something must be done. We cannot go on as we are now. Things are completely out of control.

Report
Dick Quinton,  03/30/10 8:34
Edgar, What is so hard to understand? Apparently the county commissioners don't have the authority to close roads, strange as that may seem. If I was a commissioner, I'd close them anyway and make the gas companies take me to court, which they wouldn't do because it would take time. They'd fix the roads - and fast. They know that a severance tax is coming, because we have no choice, so they want as much gas as quickly as they can get it - pre tax. Don't blame commissioner Smith, or any commissioners. They are doing all they can, or at least two of them are, to get this issue addressed by the powers that have the power that they don't have.
Report  (Reported!)
wrong tree,  03/30/10 6:49
Thank you Review and others here for opening my eyes. I wondered why our road was not being fixed. But your right, there trucks can still get through and thats all that matters to them. We have a car and it bottoms out in the ruts. But there trucks sit higher off the ground and they can get through. Its not right.
Report
Melanie Waters,  03/30/10 6:32
Commissioner Smith was the one person, the one official, in Bradford County for whom I was holding out hope; but alas, no longer. While I want to like Smith, it appears he now may have gone over to the other side. You see, Commissioner Smith, the real reason so many Bradford County roads are today "less traveled" is that you no longer can get through! And given government sides with the gas companies on this matter, and AGAINST the people, you might be "looking for love" in the wrong place.

Destroyed roads need to be closed to truck traffic until they are repaired and suitable once again for use by automobiles. That's what would light a fire under the gas companies. But nothing like that is being done or being contemplated. Instead, the gas companies are running the show, and running amok. And this is happening with the willing, even eager, cooperation of officials elected by the people to serve THEM.

Is there not one government official willing to reflect, and to express, the outrage so widely felt in all corners of Bradford County? Is there not a single one?

Report
Edgar Thomson,  03/30/10 5:07
I think it's unfair for Mark Smith to enter into a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Do you also take candy from babies and kick puppies? You meanie!
Report
about time,  03/30/10 2:28
It pains me to admit that a democrat is actually making sense in the wake of a corrupt republican. At least Smith can recognize that this industry is impacting us all, and will continue to do so until our elected officials agree on a plan. Quite simply, the industry and the people who are profiting from the industry should be the ones who have to pay for the damage they cause. The vast majority of the citizens in this county have to deal with the present and future inconvenience of the industry, yet will never see a dime for it, so why should we have to pay for it on top of that? This industry has brought us nothing but greed, hatred, and general inconvenience. I wonder what issue will "surprise" us next.
Oh geeze, I hope I'm not picking on the gas guys again.
Report
Paul,  03/30/10 2:06
Mark Smith, thank you, for never losing sight of your mission.
When we elected you, we trusted you to keep your word, and do all in your power to serve and improve Bradford County. You have kept your word, and you have recognized those assisting you along the way.
Thank you, and all those you mentioned, and any others who serve each day, but may not have been included.
Report
SueA,  03/30/10 9:47
I like Mark Smith. But when my beloved car bottomed out in the ruts yesterday, as I was trying to make it home, I liked him just a little less. And my car has sixteen inch wheels. It is a large car. But you need a truck or a bus to get through the ruts now, and not bottom out. The gas company only grades our road when their TRUCKS cannot get through. That's their yardstick. They don't drive around in cars, so they simply don't care about the many residents here who do. And Pollyanna sure doesn't help us, or pay the bills, when a car that has bottomed out must go to the shop. There is no oversight, no minding of the road, nothing at all by our officials. But somehow everything is supposed to be OK. Sorry, Mark, I'm not getting it.
Report  (Reported!)
In a Rut,  03/30/10 9:44
Mark, You could not have made your point more clearly if you reached over and slapped Doug McClinko up side the head, which he sorely needs. Thank you for giving credit where credit is due.
Report  (Reported!)
egg on his face,  03/30/10 8:56
Editor's note: This is a test to ensure the reader comment function is working correctly.
Report
Editor,  03/30/10 8:46
Thanks also to Bradford County Sanitation, which held on last year through major financial setbacks and continues to serve our residents and townships as well as the gas drilling industry relative to the sanitary needs of well sites.
Report  (Reported!)
Diane Ward,  03/30/10 5:39