City must balance common sense, professional advice

After all this time, is it possible to look at McCook's water problem objectively?

Can all of us -- City Council members, city staff members, citizens and engineers -- work together to come up with the best possible solution for the community's water quality and supply concerns?

The questions arise because of action taken Monday night by the members of the McCook City Council.

By a 3-2 vote, the council selected Olsson Associates to find an alternative source of water. The engineering firm will be paid $50,000 for the work, if negotiations are successful.

In his motion, Councilman Chris Overman instructed Olsson Associates to: (1) Study potential additional wells near the present well field; (2) Consider ideas offered by the Concerned Citizens group in its "Common Sense" proposal; (3) Form a citizens advisory group; and (4) Consider any property already owned by the city.

Although there are differences of opinion on the council and in the community, the council's action Monday night could turn out to be the most practical approach.

Why's that? Because the decision blends two important considerations. First, the plan of action taps the expertise of a highly trained professional engineering staff, and, second, it stipulates that local, common sense proposals be considered.

The quality and quantity of McCook's future water supply is too important to not have the best available analysis of water sources. The majority of the council declared Monday night that it feels Olsson is the best choice to do the job.

And, yet, throughout McCook's history, we have learned how important it is to take the viewpoints of the people of the community into consideration. It is what we call common sense, and over time, it has proven to be an essential ingredient for success.

One of the concerns we have about experts is that they tend to favor the highest priced solution. We hope that isn't true of Olsson Associates. As they begin their study of alternative sites, we hope the engineers keep in mind that what McCook people want is an effective solution to the water problem at the most economical price possible.

That's why Councilman Overman was wise to include the Concerned Citizens, the Common Sense proposal and a citizens advisory committee as part of his successful motion.

We want professional advice from Olsson Associates. But we want it to be based on good, old-fashioned common sense.

Hopefully, the majority of the council has hit upon an approach that will accomplish both objectives and, in the process, provide McCook with a water source which will serve the community for many years to come.