Compromise can still have its day

Compromise.
It’s the art form of statesmen. I think Truman said politicians are statesmen who’ve been dead for 10 or 15 years.
But we’ve lost the art of compromise, and with it we may have lost the ability to be statesmen. We witnessed that firsthand when the Lee County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to sue the City of Fort Madison.
I’m fairly certain I will never be on a ballot. Some journalists look to that as they close in on retirement, but I think it goes against the very grain of who we are and rarely is that candidacy successful.
I spoke with several people after the meeting and asked whatever happened to a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Or at the bare minimum an invitation for a sit down to work through the issue and find common ground.
County officials say city officials haven't been heard from lately on the issue. City officials say there’s nothing to talk about.
Well, a judge may have a different opinion. And it appears that in certain circumstances, District 1 Supervisor candidate Joey Herren, is right that the supervisors are potentially suing some of the very people who elected them – specifically Tom Schulz and Ron Fedler whose districts include the City of Fort Madison.
Supervisors voted to file a suit in North Lee County Courthouse to force the city to take action on drainage issues the county claims were created when the P.O.R.T. trail was constructed on the west side of 302nd Avenue. County Attorney Ross Braden said the only real legal remedy the county has, per a 28E agreement signed between the two entities regarding construction and maintenance of the trail, is to force the city to replace drainage structures that were in place prior to the construction. Braden said the city could be forced to move the trail to put those drainage structures back in place, which would be costly to the city.
Fort Madison Mayor Matt Mohrfeld said the road isn’t any worse than it was prior to the construction, and he can’t see why the county is upset enough to file a lawsuit. Mohrfeld’s known for running on the trail regularly and said if anyone knows the condition of that stretch of road over the past three to five years, it’s him.
At a prior city council meeting, Mohrfeld instructed city staff to take up the issue, but said the city has remained quiet on the threat of a lawsuit to let the emotions settle down a bit.
He said county officials reviewed plans for the trail created by HR Green, an engineering firm out of Cedar Rapids who the city has butted heads with on several occasions. Mohrfeld said County Engineer Ben Hull reviewed the plans, made recommendations that the city reacted to, and then signed off on the updated designs, which resulted in the current trail work along the roadway.
As Supervisor Chairman Garry Seyb likes to say, “I’m not the smartest guy in the room, and that’s a good thing,” but this seems to be like a no-brainer.
This isn’t Chicago and Cook County, these people know each other pretty well and have for years. Both sides have legitimate concerns, and those have been reported on regularly. Mohrfeld can dig in, but so can Seyb, and they both are the most passionate leaders of their respective local governments that we’ve seen in decades. That’s my impression, anyway, and I would think most would agree.
There’s still a chance for the two to head off court hearings that could be costly to Fort Madison taxpayers. If it would get to the point where a judge has to issue a ruling and rules in favor of the 28E language, that cost could grow.
The county has hinted at a resolution that involved the city annexing the roadway into the city to remove any county liability on the stretch. There’s a cost associated with that, too.
Is it the city’s responsibility to fix drainage issues the county had a chance to look at? Maybe. That will ultimately be for a judge to decide - unless statesmen find a way to work through it.
Are there two sides to every story? Yep. Have we heard the whole story? Probably not. But when both sides say they don’t get what the other side is hung up on, then the obvious answer is to grab the players and get in a room. I think there’s been some of that, but we’re just not there yet, so you push ahead.
Put a target on a wall. Grind it out.
Compromise is history’s lubricant – but that’s Beside the Point.
Chuck Vandenberg is editor and co-owner of Pen City Current and can be reached at Charles.V@PenCityCurrent.com.