How nice of McLennan County commissioners to awaken, Rip Van Winkle-like, and take an interest in complex affairs that have occupied others for years.

Just how else can you explain the court’s decision, late in the game, to weigh in on the Bull Hide Creek sewage treatment plant proposal long after the time to take a stand has passed?

Better late than never, you say? Not if this means there’s even a chance that several cities have wasted a lot of time and taxpayer money on an issue that most of our county commissioners appear to have fairly well ignored till now.

To everyone’s surprise, the court Tuesday passed a resolution opposing construction of the treatment plant along Bull Hide Creek, confounding, even angering city leaders in Waco, Hewitt and Lorena.

Novice Precinct 1 Commissioner Kelly Snell introduced the resolution, saying there “needs to be better communications about everything that’s going on with this project” and suggesting a work session with the Waco Metropolitan Area Regional Sewer System and Bull Hide Creek residents who oppose the plant. How, we wonder, could Snell not have heard or read anything about this issue till now?

Lester Gibson and Joe Mashek have even fewer excuses for joining Snell on this. As veteran commissioners, they have had plenty of opportunities to investigate this issue.

To learn more, they could have walked two blocks over to City Hall or picked up a phone.

They also could have asked questions when they themselves gave WMARSS an easement through the Precinct 1 county yard for the sewer line — and were promised a tap in the line.

Only County Judge Jim Lewis and Commissioner Ray Meadows seemed educated on the issue, much in need of resolution. To their credit, both voted against this probably irrelevant, Johnny-come-lately county resolution.

This is text for the first editorial