Last week’s council meeting showed the low regard with which the North Bend City Council and staff hold their constituents. How can we be asked to believe that Councilman Wittress, who admits to a change of heart after an unauthorized communication took place concerning the A. F. Evans project, is unbiased? The Snoqualmie Valley Record article went on to mention that nobody challenged the councilman’s ability to continue to serve on the quasi-judicial panel reviewing the project even after the admission.

Over the past months it has become evident that the quasi-judicial procedures, calls for public input and public hearings are all a joke to the current City Council. Why does the city attorney ask questions about bias if, when it is demonstrated and freely admitted to, he does nothing? I called the city attorney after the council meeting of March 19 when Mrs. Webber said, “Of course we [the council members] were bias during the Tollgate hearings.” Mr. Kenyon said he “didn’t hear any admission of wrongdoing, only Mrs. Webber advocating for a position” concerning the need for a hearing examiner.

As citizens we have been asked to comment on the comprehensive plan amendments by the council. Yet when all of the comments came back contrary to the council’s wishes, they simply ignored the input and went about their regulatory taking rampage. It is apparent that this group of council people intends to push its agenda to the limit, ignoring the plight of the taxpayers left holding the bag.

If a neighbor in Silver Creek loses the ability to rebuild their home after a fire or flood, it’s just too bad. But if the city runs a deficit, it’s OK to suspend the rules and grab money from the first available developer.

If you doubt the duplicity of the current regime, ask yourself why by the time you read this a council meeting concerning the approval of the A. F. Evans project, which was postponed to Sept. 3, has been moved up to Aug. 6 and by now is a done deal. It sounds like they are really interested in public participation, doesn’t it?

Because we have a representative form of government, we must resign ourselves to the fact that we cannot address certain behaviors by our representatives until the next election cycle. I would encourage anyone with an interest in adding some balance to local government to consider serving. There is a lot of damage that needs to be undone and nothing but a wholesale change in this city’s administration will make that happen.

Ross Loudenback

North Bend