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Show Lack of planning has left county with limited options Lack of planning by former Davis County officials has left county residents with many problems. The recent decision to build a new county golf course is just one of the many challenges created by lack of proper planning. The problem current commissioners face is in finding a suitable location for the proposed course. A golf course site must be at least 150 acres, and there could be a need for as many as 200 acres to build a new course. Experts have pointed out that not only one course in needed to accommodate future growth, but that several will be I necessary to serve all of the citizens of Davis County. This information is not new to the county. Several years ago a proposal was made to plan for five new golf courses in the county. That suggestion was ignored. No plans were made and now the county faces the grim reality that the current courses are overflowing and there is a critical need for a new course. Funding is not the major obstacle faced in building a new golf course. The problem is where to find a site large enough that can be acquired for the right price to accommodate the course. Some concern has been expressed that there is not a suitable site in south Davis County, but those same critics agree that there must be a course built in south Davis County sometime in the future. If a site is to be found in the future, that same site is available today. Golf courses are not the only issue that has faced this same dilemma. The recently built senior citizens complex in Kays-villc, Kays-villc, another county service, was plagued with the same problem. prob-lem. A dispute arose during the planning stages as to where the complex should be located, with Farmington, Kaysville and Layton vying for the honor. With the "graying' of Davis County, now is the time to plan for future senior citizen centers so that each area of the county is equally served. Several years ago another dispute arose over the placement of the Layton City Library. After unnecessary delays, a library was finally opened in Layton two years ago. It is the "most used" library in the county system, which illustrates that Layton's need for county library services was critical. The county jail facility that is now in use was built only ten years ago. It was inadequate when it opened. Far-sighted people peo-ple in 1980 questioned the commission's selection of the jail site in downtown Farmington and the construction of a building that could not be expanded in the future. It is time for the Davis County Commissioners to take advantage ad-vantage of the growth projection statistics that most city planners and the Davis School District use in developing plans for new buildings and services. Land prices in Davis County will not decrease. The commission com-mission needs to carefully develop a ten-year plan for growth and then make the necessary commitment to land purchases and financing of projects that will make the plan a reality. The editor invites and welcomes letters for publication pub-lication in these columns. However, they must be I signed and also bear the writer's address and telephone number. There is a limit of two per I month from any one contributor and letters will not be printed without including the writer's I name. The length should not exceed 500 words. |