To the editor,

Leah Justice’s “Planning board left with vacancies after BOC did not reappoint two members,” Tryon Daily Bulletin, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, shocked me when I read that recent planning board chair Lisa Krolak and member Christel Walter were not reappointed.

It seems impossible that these two individuals, both well known to me as friends as well as for their knowledgeable and dedicated commitment to participating in the time-consuming study of issues affecting our community, and whose long association with and commitment to working well with others has been intentionally ignored by some members of the BOC.

I am sure I speak for many who have often expressed gratitude that Krolak and Walter were sharing their educated opinions, based on study and broad knowledge and experience with how other communities have dealt with similar issues related to current challenges facing our community.

We all wish to have successful economic growth and development for our Polk County citizens, while respecting and preserving the environmental integrity of our much-cherished Blue Ridge Foothills.

For those of us not as knowledgeable or able to give up the time they’ve given over the years, we deem it a genuine loss of wisdom and experience, gained over years of study and working with others on the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and the planning board.

It is my hope that Krolak and Walter will be invited to fill planning board vacancies in the near future. In the meantime, thank you both for your valued past contributions.

Patricia Gass
Columbus, N.C.