Good Morning Maitland !
I'm a total newbie when it comes to attending anything having to do with government - so please bear with me concerning my input and overview of last evenings City Council Meeting. I'm not attempting to include everyone who spoke nor everything that was said but just touch on some of the items.
The agenda, of course, can be viewed online and as well you can listen to the minutes at:
http://www.itsmymaitland.com/agenda-archives.aspx
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City Council Meeting
Bev Reponen addressed what she referred to as the "seeming disconnect" that sometimes exists between citizens and city council. She made note that slander, insulting comments and the like must not exist and offered possible solutions that could be added to the Rules of Procedure already established by the city.
Jean Thornton (?) gave a farewell and thank-you speech to honor Bob Brown's service to our community as he is completing his three-year term in office. Bev Reponen will be sworn in at the next meeting on the 23rd of April.
Bruce Grossman approached our city council by suggesting that we establish some type of Citizen Advisory for Marketing and Advertising our city in regards to making money by securing more businesses, filling empty retail/office vacancies and the like.
Skip Penny (?) shared his views concerning the commuter rail and his reasons why we cannot afford to loose it. He stated we'd be loosing: convenience, tax revenues, property values - hence additional loss of tax revenue, desirability of living here, etc.
Larry Schnapper spoke about our community needing to enter a new era and that he could envision himself in the future enjoying the many amenities our new downtown would bring us. He sees a clear need to move rapidly forward towards that goal and wants our council to be able to look back at the legacy they helped create.
Council was very pleased to have so many people applying to serve on boards and committees. Our Mayor Kinson stressed the importance of the councils need for each applicant to connect personally with each member of the council in order for them to make their best determination as to who might be most qualified and well suited to serve on the boards. He also made note that the city seems to be coming alive with people who want to serve and that he was very pleased to see this change taking place The council voted in quite a few new adviser's.
Quite a bit of time and discussion was given to the Commuter Rail Funding Mechanism - repayment of funds if electing the opt-out, unknown future expenses, drop-dead date for inclusion in project, policing, etc.
Bob Miller was granted permission to seek qualified architects who have expertise and experience in designing municipal safety buildings. He stated his strong belief in "going green" with future city building projects and noted the current involvement Lake Sybelia Elementary has regarding an energy project with Progress Energy.
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I hope this has been of some help...because the voice that speaks out is the one that gets heard. Okay, that wasn't such a brilliant statement but it's so very true. We need me and we need you - together - speaking out and being involved.
Blessings to all,
Ann *smiles*
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3 comments:
Thank You, Ann!
FINALLY, someone I can understand! No rambling muses with lack of theme or position till 3 pages or more have been sifted through. Bravo Ann!
Thank you for the clear and concise information!
Hi Ann, good luck with your new endeavor. Mark Estrin
Great Job Ann in summarizing the salient points of last night's council meeting. We, interested Maitland residents (& others), definitely need a quick-read, concise, précis of the Council Meetings to help us stay informed when we are unable to attend or don't have enough time to listen post-meeting to the recording of the meeting on the internet. Keep up the good work being our unofficial Maitland "Scribe"!!! Thanks!
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