Comment from Stockhoff, Gary

I would offer my support and agreement for the comments and suggestions stated in Document ATBCB-2011-0004-0137 as submitted by Mr. Peter King, Executive Director of the American Public Works Association. Specifically, I would like to emphasize the statement, "Prescriptive "one-size-fits-all" standards typically fail to take into account the diverse conditions of individual localities and the engineering realities of a given situation.". This is indeed the concern I have about the "black and white" guidelines in the proposed rule and the "gray" reality of the physical and financial world of Washington County. The County takes very seriously its responsibility to provide safe and adequate access to our citizens, and we have invested a great deal of public funds to correct existing deficiencies. In my opinion, moving forward with a "one-size-fits-all" approach will in the end harm our ability to achieve the maximize benefit with the precious dollars we have available. I would urge you to consider the suggestions in Mr. King's letter and ensure that engineering judgment and common sense continue as viable tools in the planning, design and construction of access improvements.