I have been following the Clearlake airport saga over the last year, and, have come to the conclusion that it is time for the citizens of Lake County to begin thinking outside the box.

Our county board spends money for out-of-county people to do marketing and planning for our county's future. I believe it is time we take control, and come together to present our board with real local input. I question spending our money on big ad firms who look at Lake County as just another client. Our county's future is a personal thing to many of us.

I recently approached county Supervisors Denise Rushing and Jeff Smith and Clearlake City Administrator Dale Neiman with an idea for the south county's future should the Lowe's project fall through.

The concept divides the shares of redevelopment money into three sections. The old part of town and the airport split the money that’s left after the sewer system investment.

My concept is a long-term investment in the county. It is the belief that Lake County can be the premier vacation destination in Northern California. We need to create our own version of a cross between the attraction of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri. Tourists spend money to be entertained and to have fun. The scope of the concept involves Lower Lake all the way through to Clearlake on Highway 53.

Considering the airport property is along a major highway, with a lot of traffic, it is logical to put businesses that draw people to them. My suggestion was to entice Starbucks and In-N-Out Burger into investing in our county. We all know the In-N-Out Burger would draw out-of-county business and also be a familiar sight to many tourists. These are just two anchor businesses that could help the city of Clearlake’s tax intake and the county as a whole.

I also suggested creating an avenue of the wines with special attractions that other wine counties do not offer.

I believe we all need to contribute ideas that could become a reality in our county. We as citizens have a responsibility to find ways for the citizens to make money and not have to leave the county to make a decent living. My feeling is we need to have the voice of the citizens speak to the board's decisions for our future instead of another out-of-county firm telling us what we need to do. Let’s be local and plan our counties future together.

I am asking for input from people so I can put together a comprehensive marketing plan that I can present to the Board of Supervisors. So if you want to help me go beyond the usual talk about – well they should do this and why don’t they try that – please get in contact with me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The only way things happen in life is when we make them happen.

Keith Buter lives in Lucerne.