Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Council to Present New Plan - Unanimous Approval Anticipated

Courtney Lomax of the Express-Times wrote today about the Council Meeting Tuesday night and it included these quotes (read the full article here):
"I think you're going to find at the next meeting almost a unanimous (vote) to move forward on a government center," Davis said Tuesday from his new home near Asheville, N.C.

"We are looking at other options," Samus said, adding that expanding council chambers is still an option.

Davis and Samus both said council and residents will likely be pleased with the outcome of the committee's alternate proposal.
What is striking about these comments is that the members of Council stated emphatically on Thursday during the workshop that they had not discussed the plans amongst themselves since the presentations were made during the August meeting.

It would seem the committee would have had to have met to make these statements. They could have simply stated that the committee met to discuss contractual matters related to a government center proposal. This would have avoided the situation of them now appearing as if they have again violated the sunshine law.

Special thanks to Bernie O'Hare who sent an email and made a post (read it here) identifying these quotes.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I simply do not understand!!!
What do they have to gain by being so secretive??? I understand that real estate deals are fragile , but would it have hurt to just let the public know that they heard our concerns and were actively seeking other solutions.

It would have made them look like heroes. We would have felt like our efforts counted.

We have all been working very hard to do what many feel is the right thing for Nazareth. Many of us gave up alot of our summer. I personally lost time with my son, that I can never get back. But, we all did it because it was the right thing to do!!



It would have meant alot to all of us to have been given the courtesy of consideration.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Thanks for the nice words, Ross, Once agin, your detailed report of Thursday's meeting is the proof of what was said by Council members at that time, which clearly contradicts what Courtney Lomax was told last night.

They didn't have to go into details but could have told us they were in fact considering a third option, and that they could not go into detail because it involved a possible real estate purchase, which is covered under the Sunshine Act.

I think that Council is so used to operating in the shadows that they simply did not realize the need to be upfront with residents.

The danger with Nazareth Hall Park may go away but the unbderlying problem remains - a Council that excludes the public.

Anonymous said...

Bernie is right. I became more interested in this whole issue because I was opposed to having a building across from my house. But what I have truely learned is that this council simply does not always work in the best interest of the citizens. They're running the show with the curtain closed. The solicitor is a fool. And they seem to do anything they can to leave the public in the dark. The park might get spared. But there is a deeper issue here. The faces on this council need to change...if only people would run against them.