Process was maybe a little skewed. Chair David Gantt called on Kim MacQueen, and then he said he wanted to hear from people in the western district before hearing from outsiders. He then let MacQueen, and outsider, have the floor. The meeting was supposed to last only an hour, but MacQueen’s question took up fifteen minutes. Fortunately for her, the question was a good one. She asked what the point of the proposed recreation authority was, since no efficiencies, in the amended bill that excludes municipalities, are apparent. After one commissioner skirted the issues, Ellen Frost offered that the authority would protect those government services – libraries, parks, recreation – that normally are first in line to get a haircut when governments have to tighten their belts. With a separate board with separate taxing powers, these programs will be more sustainable.