Public input at Woodford County Board meetings is a meaningless process that creates more problems than solutions.

Public input at Woodford County Board meetings is an essential part of the democratic process.

County Board members will decide between those views tonight when they consider a resolution that would remove the public comment segment from their monthly agenda. The segment has been featured at every board meeting over the last several years.

"You don't solve problems with what we're doing right now because there's no dialogue," said board member Tom Janssen. He voted in favor of bringing the issue to the full board at the last central services committee meeting.

"If the idea is by letting them vent, it will make them happy, from a therapeutic standpoint, I'm all for it," he said. "It's probably a lot cheaper than going to a psychiatrist."

Janssen pointed to the onslaught of public comments at the last County Board meeting as part of the problem. The board that night approved the special-use permits for a wind farm outside El Paso after nearly an hour of public comments.

But the board couldn't consider anything the people had to say about the wind farms at that time, Janssen said. The voice of the public could have been considered at earlier public hearings. The board that night was scheduled to vote only on whether the wind farm developer met the technical criteria the county had established in its zoning ordinances.

"Those were comments that we weren't able to take into account at that time," he said. "There's no purpose to public input in a case like that."

Instead, Janssen said, residents should take problems to their elected representatives, who can refer them to the appropriate committees. There, further investigation and clarification could lead to resolutions instead of bickering.

Members of the public still would be able to earn a spot on the County Board agendas in advance of the meetings - rather than simply having to sign up on the same night - if the resolution passes.

Janssen predicted the measure would not pass, saying other board members would be too fearful of how they would be perceived to vote in favor of the resolution.

Board member Kenneth Uphoff, who also voted to bring the public input issue to the full board, also said the resolution could require a two-thirds majority because it constitutes a rules change.

"We do want to hear from (the public), but not in that type of situation where we can't take any action on it," Uphoff said. "I'm not trying to keep the public from contacting board members - that's what we're here for if it's something the county should be involved in."