Just a quick thought. Rather than running out and creating your own group to do things you think the city or county (or chamber) ought to be doing, why not first exhaust all the options by holding government accountable? These are elected or appointed officials and don't get an automatic pass from requiring them to live up to the law and have procedures and rules that live up to open government. They CHOSE to do those jobs.For example, don't know where the plan is for Oakdale or what it is? Go ASK for a copy of the plan via a Public Information request. If there isn't one, that will say just as much as getting one. I'd personally heard today from two different people about a plan to build another high school gymnasium, a plan that would require a tax increase, probably, through another bond. I assume doing that would require an election but meantime what would the gym even look like and what's the justification for needing it? I've heard two entirely different reasons for needing a new gym, one reason which negates the other. It may be that the plan is already on the school board website, going to look before asking to see it.

I also don't have a beef with people forming private groups to do good things for the community. But they aren't government and it there's an appearance that they are doing activities as a way to circumvent the city, county, or chamber, it looks like a shadow government. That's the wrong direction and shows a huge lack of respect for both the elected or appointed officials AND the democratic process that elected those people as representatives.