Posted 9/12/01 Wants to know what council is hearing from citizens To the editor: I am very glad that I see many letters from citizens in the community concerned about the same old issue that never seems to get through to the North Branch City Council. Thank you for being persistent with ěthe issueî week after week. We all know the topic. It is loud and clear...SLOW DOWN THE GROWTH. I am saddened when I hear people from surrounding communities stating, ěwe have to be very careful-look what happened to North Branch.î To much of what the opinion column contains from concerned citizens we all respond, ěthey hit it right on the nose.î I have never heard so many people (including myself) say, ěI am going to write an opinion to the paperî because they are so frustrated by the politics that seem to have overtaken THEIR community. But, what I would really like to see published is a letter from each of the North Branch City Council members that voted yes to the latest proposed 150-house development (as of this writing not yet passed) and for the Casselbury 6 55-house development (sorry, too late--itís already a done deal), answering the question we are all wanting to ask them.... ěPlease, do tell us your reasoning because we really are all baffled by your votes.î I will be sending this article to each of them so they will be sure to see that I am asking for a published response. Before you send a response, take a drive through the newest existing developments. Donít try to drive through town from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., however, because the traffic is worse than most urban neighborhoods I have driven in and it will frustrate you terribly. Oh, and drive slowly through the developments so you donít hit the numerous children playing the streets because they have no where else to play, even though the developers promise to leave space between the ugly cookie-cutter masses to put up a park for them to play in. I often wonder how many of those ědevelopersî at the end of the day after making all their money in our community drive home to a more quiet community that they have not yet ravished? Lastly, while responding, you may want to refresh your memories with your articles at election time that were published in this same newspaper. I recall reading that you were willing to speak for the ěpeople of North Branchî and ěmake a differenceî when addressing the issue that bounced the whole previous City Council out. The same issue that made people take a stand regarding the school referendum. Did they vote ěnoî because they want our kids to be crowded in their schools? Of course not. Canít you see that both the Council vote and the referendum were finally issues for which the people of North Branch stood up to take what control they could when no one else seems to care? How does one even plan for a new school when the system could be hit with well over 200 students with just the most recent developments we speak of? Tell us all, if you were really listening to the voices of the people and speaking for the citizens of North Branch as you promised, what voices did you hear that made you say ěyes?î Sharlyn Good North Branch ©Post Review