Who's zooming who?
As we reported last week on another Web log, the New Albany City Council missed an opportunity to move the city forward at Thursday's meeting. The Tribune reported the highlights of the meeting in Friday's editions (Positions approved during raucous council meeting), addressed the fractious meeting editorially on Sunday (The Tribune does not archive editorials and columns), and today shares with the public some of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that caused the council meeting to end on a sour note.
Amany Ali reports in ," (Buildng controversy: Appointments to Building Commission once again delayed) the background and details that led to the council yet again deferring a decision to fill two vacant positions on the NA Building Commission.
Here's our report from Friday:
Many citizens departed the meeting at the recess, but those who stayed until adjournment might not agree that the meeting "ended" on a positive note.
Tension reasserted itself rapidly in inverse proportion to the number of citizens in the room when the Mayor pointed out that his nominee for the building commission would now be left on the table for two consecutive meetings without action by the council.
Building Commission member Steve LaDuke pointed out to the council that his body continued to have a problem raising a quorum while two positions remained vacant. CM Gahan suggested that the mayor simply see to it that all appointees show up and that would solve the problem.
One commissioner works as a utility company lineman, so let's pray for light winds, no ice or snow, and no other emergencies that may prevent the building commission from even electing its own officers to begin the year.
Apparently, a private deal was worked out by council members to slide that item off the agenda without telling the mayor or anyone else, then to wait until after the recess to discuss it. Here's irony for you. The fact that the citizens had departed at the recess was used as an excuse to refuse the mayor's request. And this is for an appointment that clearly had unanimous support among the CM's.
Could someone be trying to yank the mayor's chain?
Ali put in the hours to chase down the real story: CM Kochert doesn't want the mayor to be able to appoint anyone "aligned" and thus opposed both of the nominees on the agenda. CM's Coffey and Seabrook objected on procedural grounds and Council Chairman Gahan ruled a vote to be improper.
The Building Commission has not been able to organize or perform its duties with these two vacancies and may not be able to summon a quorum for its next scheduled meeting, either. It is the council that has dropped the ball on this one, not the mayor.
See Monday's Tribune for details on the pre-meeting negotiations and what has transpired since then at http://www.news-tribune.net/.
Amany Ali reports in ," (Buildng controversy: Appointments to Building Commission once again delayed) the background and details that led to the council yet again deferring a decision to fill two vacant positions on the NA Building Commission.
Here's our report from Friday:
Many citizens departed the meeting at the recess, but those who stayed until adjournment might not agree that the meeting "ended" on a positive note.
Tension reasserted itself rapidly in inverse proportion to the number of citizens in the room when the Mayor pointed out that his nominee for the building commission would now be left on the table for two consecutive meetings without action by the council.
Building Commission member Steve LaDuke pointed out to the council that his body continued to have a problem raising a quorum while two positions remained vacant. CM Gahan suggested that the mayor simply see to it that all appointees show up and that would solve the problem.
One commissioner works as a utility company lineman, so let's pray for light winds, no ice or snow, and no other emergencies that may prevent the building commission from even electing its own officers to begin the year.
Apparently, a private deal was worked out by council members to slide that item off the agenda without telling the mayor or anyone else, then to wait until after the recess to discuss it. Here's irony for you. The fact that the citizens had departed at the recess was used as an excuse to refuse the mayor's request. And this is for an appointment that clearly had unanimous support among the CM's.
Could someone be trying to yank the mayor's chain?
Ali put in the hours to chase down the real story: CM Kochert doesn't want the mayor to be able to appoint anyone "aligned" and thus opposed both of the nominees on the agenda. CM's Coffey and Seabrook objected on procedural grounds and Council Chairman Gahan ruled a vote to be improper.
The Building Commission has not been able to organize or perform its duties with these two vacancies and may not be able to summon a quorum for its next scheduled meeting, either. It is the council that has dropped the ball on this one, not the mayor.
See Monday's Tribune for details on the pre-meeting negotiations and what has transpired since then at http://www.news-tribune.net/.
posted by All4Word at 11:28 AM
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