Super Wal-Mart is unnecessary

Editor,

As noted in the Leader there are now plans before our city council and county commissioners to construct a super, massive Wal-Mart in Polson. Objections include its forcing out a lot of Polson small businesses with the resultant loss of local jobs, huge and complex traffic problems, additional and expensive public services required, water and sewage requirements, loss of lake scenery, etc.

Yet, the worst impact may well be the loss of Polson as a small town (under 5,000 population) with its quality of life, which is why most of us have located here. Various governmental surveys and public hearings have overwhelmingly placed quality of life and low population densities in our top priorities.

But our decision makers have ignored the public by approving subdivisions and other development whenever someone comes to town with a barrel of money. And we are already dangerously overextended with our allocated water supplies as witnessed by new subdivisions approved by our city council members, one of whom is also a developer.

It is time to make our elected officials responsible to the Polson public and what they want and to prevent a super Wal-Mart from destroying the small town situation we now have.

I suggest that our local businesses start collecting signatures from the public as well as strong public participation with our officials before they rubber stamp and manipulate this massive and unnecessary development.

Daniel H. Henning

Polson