Posts
Aside from the change of venue and time, today's meeting between the Ratepayers and council went ahead as planned. With absolutely no surprizes in store. It was as predictable as knowing winter is just around the corner.
Bill Kovach, president of the Crowsnest Ratepayers Association spoke on behalf of taxpayers in this community, presenting their itinerary, which mayor and council adhered to.
More of the Ratepayer Executive.
CAO Myron Thompson addressing the Ratepayers, with Mayor and Council in the background.
Mainstream media in attendance, including moi (taking the picture) representing Alternative media (a precedent setting first, I think, for the Crowsnest Pass ;-) ).
Cameraman and reporter from Global T.V. were there covering this event. (Should be on tonight at 11 pm.)
Comment: The bottom line from my perspective of what transpired at this meeting is that mayor, council and administration were respectful, courteous and made themselves available (as were and did the executive of the Ratepayers). In fact, they spent about two and half hours (1 hr. over the initially agreed upon time frame) patiently answering questions, justifying themselves and their actions, and more or less trying to impress one and all with their professionalism, sincerity, and determination to see the job through, as they see it, come hell or high water. "There's no stopping us 'we got the support of the 'silent majority''." Delusions of Grandeur?
The Ratepayers 'Proposal for Council' (see itinerary above) as I said was adhered to and dealt with point by point, but by the end of the meeting nothing was accomplished as far as them either acknowledging and acting on the requests demanded of them, or in reassuring those there from the Ratepayers that their concerns were even valid and had merit.
Lost in the discourse was the fact residents here have lost faith in their ability to manage our community according to past best practices with respect, for example, to how volunteers are treated and depended on here in order to maintain affordability, especially for the most disadvantaged among us. Transparency, openness and approachability have been lost with the end result that they are no longer seen to be representing us, but to rule over us instead, as tyrants.
The otherwise cordial meeting ended on a sour note with the mayor telling one and all, after being informed by the Ratepayers that in their opinion nothing had been resolved by this meeting and therefore they would be going ahead with a petition to Municipal Affairs asking for their removal, that in the past he has been at both ends of a petition and for us to be careful as "you might get into something you won't like". Was that a threat? Sure sounded like it.
On that ominous note, I'll end it here for tonight, as I'm tired (being a reporter is a tough job) and have some things to do yet before bed.
Before I go though, here's what CTV News had to say about our current situation.
Crownest Pass MD Meeting - CTV Lethbridge - Oct.09/12
Lofty promises are made, time passes, promises go unfulfilled, excuses are made and gross failures are forgotten, denied or downplayed and no one, except the public at large, pays for them.
10 comments:
Hi John,
In the CTV clip, at 1:22 it looks like Almart's gone. I haven't been in the Pass for over a year. Is it a new sign, or is it gone?
So who called this meeting? Council did not pass a resolution to call it.
Perhaps the CAO called it? This was a highly political affair that Administration should not be involved in.
If so, the CAO appointed the chairman. You don't mention who that was but I'm guessing Bruce. Does it seem right for the CAO to appoint the Mayor chairman?
And who decided that the public be excluded, but selected media be allowed?
Mere technicalities, of course. We're very informal in CNP, we don't bother about legalities, policies and procedures.
Anon 10:31 said:
"In the CTV clip, at 1:22 it looks like Almart's gone."
Nope, they renovated, removed asbestos, etc.
I did overhear some grumbling about "until the kid finishes university".
:^)
Has anyone re-read "Animal Farm" lately? For the curious, rather than find a copy, here is a quick link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm
Read the plot summary & see how many parallels you can find to our council & current situation.
Seriously though, I do have a question that I wonder if anyone can answer. Does the mayor & his gang of "yes Men" feel in their delusions of grandeur that they must drag the poor backward heathens of the Crowsnest Pass kicking & screaming into the so-called modern world or has the mayor come back to enact vengeance for some perceived wrong or slight that occurred in the past, feeling he currently has the position & power to do so? Can there be any rational reason for systematically destroying the current status of systems & organizations in the Pass?
John, I took 11 pages of notes at the meeting and have posted the transcript in my Blog.
It took me almost 7 hours to put it from paper to online. I just finished it now. I am a slow typer. Just little 'ol hunt and peck. LoL
Would you like to link to it for me?
http://www.sasha-yourvoiceoncouncil.com/blog/2012/10/10/Results-Of-The-Meeting-With-the-Mayor-Council-Administration.aspx
Crowsnest Promoter
Fire chief firing sparks public protest
Thank you for sharing. Not to many people in your position are so gracious. Your article was very poignant and understandable. It helped me to understand very clearly. Thank you for your help.
"The Mayor stated that we would run this 'special' meeting like a normal council meeting, in that we would run our statements/questions through him to other members of council and administration and visa versa."
So this was just like a regular Council meeting except it was not open to the public as an official meeting must be.
"Emile jumped in and said that he can count on one hand how many people have approached him since he has got in on council."
That doesn't surprise me. He gave this condescending, dismissive, evasive reply on his blog:
"Keith I can only reply that these are documents that are generic to all communitie and are usually suplied by the enforcement branches of the government.
I know some of the language seems strange but it usually is part of the process the government has.
I will ask the question next time I see the enforcement person."
No, Emile. Laws must be written in grammatical English and it is your primary responsibility to read and understand them before voting.
I didn't bother asking him anything after that.
I approached Emile on his blog also and only got reprimanded for not getting out there and helping. He also never did answer my question.Him and Gallant both quit blogging about the same time as they did not like a public debate, in my opinion.
And now councilors are wondering why the ratepayers have started up again, and why for this council.Well boys, the silent majority does not support you. You guys are out of touch with how the community in large feels.That being said , you have been out of touch from the get go.
For a while both Sainden and Gallant tried to engage with the public through their blogs but when they found they could not justify their council's policies, actions and/or decisions because they had a more discerning public than they could imagine, they shut them down and went and hid behind their mayor and administration. A move that was both unwise and very revealing that has had long term disastrous ramifications to this day, that otherwise may have been averted, if instead they had chosen to communicate openly and honestly with those they are suppose to represent.
JP
Post a Comment