I've taken time out of my day to learn remotely what the city is up to and I haven't been pleased.
1 ) The Parks Director stated 1000 viewed the So Bazaar "event' and now 1800. I find this very hard to believe owing to the lack of publicity of the event and it being virtual.
2) The Director said the Rec. Department is developing 150 virtual recreation programs. Really?
3) The Director said "Picnics in the Park" has been popular. I'd love to go to one but where and when?
As I write this, Council is in a Regular Business meeting. I don't think I'm missing out in anything because over 30 are lined up to speak during Items from the Audience. That's two hours of hacking away. Most appear to be speaking about APPWW, a group that lobbies on racial issues surrounding Muslims. It was a repeat of the Regular meeting 2 weeks ago.
Councilmember David Carson (and myself) feel "worldly" politics have no place in city government. Apparently, our city lawyer said outside issues and local election measures are in the purview of council. It seems many of the speakers drum on for over 4 minutes. The mayor should take Marchione's approach saying "...in summary" as advisement to stop. The LWSD school board allows only four speakers per topic.
While I'm at it, why doesn't the mayor furlough (with benefits) 5-10% of her employees who aren't working or essential during these times? She knows who they are. The money saved could be reinvested in the community. At the end of the meeting Councilmember Vanessa Kritzer recommended a facilitator be hired for conflict resolution.
-- Bob Yoder
9/1/2020
1 ) The Parks Director stated 1000 viewed the So Bazaar "event' and now 1800. I find this very hard to believe owing to the lack of publicity of the event and it being virtual.
2) The Director said the Rec. Department is developing 150 virtual recreation programs. Really?
3) The Director said "Picnics in the Park" has been popular. I'd love to go to one but where and when?
As I write this, Council is in a Regular Business meeting. I don't think I'm missing out in anything because over 30 are lined up to speak during Items from the Audience. That's two hours of hacking away. Most appear to be speaking about APPWW, a group that lobbies on racial issues surrounding Muslims. It was a repeat of the Regular meeting 2 weeks ago.
Councilmember David Carson (and myself) feel "worldly" politics have no place in city government. Apparently, our city lawyer said outside issues and local election measures are in the purview of council. It seems many of the speakers drum on for over 4 minutes. The mayor should take Marchione's approach saying "...in summary" as advisement to stop. The LWSD school board allows only four speakers per topic.
While I'm at it, why doesn't the mayor furlough (with benefits) 5-10% of her employees who aren't working or essential during these times? She knows who they are. The money saved could be reinvested in the community. At the end of the meeting Councilmember Vanessa Kritzer recommended a facilitator be hired for conflict resolution.
-- Bob Yoder
9/1/2020
Thank you for your comments, I agree with you!
ReplyDeleteBob, thanks for your attention to the things the city is doing. As you can imagine with people staying home in significant numbers, getting the word out about events that are online are mainly going to be advertised in online forums such as Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor. Perhaps we need to be more effective in grabbing folks' attention.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the comments of the City Attorney regarding making public statements, Mr. Haney was just advising that the Council is free to make statements such as were considered tonight, my point was that sometimes it's simply better to not exercise that right.