At roughly 9:20 p.m., a three minute break.
---
We return to an appointment to the tree board to satisfy John Gonder, and the approval of Huncilman's CF1 tax abatement form. Coffey apologizes for keeping him waiting, and the man says he has "enjoyed" it so far. It's about to get better, isn't it?
Ordinances and resolutions
A-09-10 (Gahan 1) EDIT money appropriation for storm water
$75,000 resolution amount becomes $100,000 tonight, because this is the ordinance, by golly, and we rounded up. Council members are still trying to decide where the money is going. Caesar says we have to start doing something now. Price says the rate increase is cart before the horse. Must know where the money is needed first. Price corrects the administration as to the origins of the storm water board, a peculiar obession of his. Coffey wants it stated that the board is three years old. Rate established at inception was to be for five years.
K Zurschmiede clarifies again: From EDIT, not Rainy Day? Rainy Day for future raiding? Gahan says yes, whatever, take it from anywhere. “We want to move as fast as we can.” Kay Garry says because it was advertised as EDIT, must be from EDIT. She could change the newspaper ad if they want to raid Rainy, too.
1st reading: Against … none
For … all of them
---
G-09-14 (Messer 1) Home Rule ordinance to pay for the best interests of New Albany
Garry: State says a line item something or another must have an ordinance, somehow an edict of the state for a specific economic development expenditure. Used for 4H Fair night tickets, etc. Things like that. Only once was the $4,000 already spent. Housecleaning only.
1st reading: Unanimous.
---
G-09-15 (Benedetti 1) user/service fees for storm water
Benedetti expresses favor. Gonder asks whether unpaved roads are subject to stormwater fees (??). Apparently yes.
Price: 5-year-plans back in ’06. Nought six, Anje. I know we had to buy back EMC, etc. Are we paying a secretary $40,000 a year? Who is it?
Kay: Error. She makes $23,000
Price: Shane, what about non-compensating board members? It was in the by-laws. How did that change?
**Kay: The council changed it. “You all passed it and signed it.”
Price votes “no” so often that he can’t remember voting against storm water compensation increases. Now he is silent again. Won't be for long, although if the voters think about it, perhaps Price silence can be permanent soon.
Gahan: Moving the rate without a master plan?
Engineer: Different rates provided to show improvements possible at different monetary expenditures.
KZ wants to see the original budget again. Thinks it is different from the way tonight’s report is set up.
Engineer: A lot went out with EMC.
Not a budget, but prepared by an auditor of sorts. The bottom line is correct, according to the engineer.
Benedetti: Kelly Welsh’s salary? Kay says no, her main salary comes from the sewer department. Kay didn’t get a chance to see it.
Shane: A draft, taking previous numbers and putting them into categories. We can find out exactitude, but this shows you where the money has gone (Messer: “perspective”). It shows what can be used for capital improvements, not a budget.
KZ: “We have to have an actual budget” (where have we heard this?) Kay says it has been given out to them. KZ apparently has forgotten.
Price now uses the word “fictitious,” probably because Barney Fife once said the same word on an episode. Price understands that money is needed, but his concern is accountability.
Price: “They hit us up with code enforcement, and we spent all that money on code enforcement” … stream of consciousness, now he’s talking about mulch and Earth First, “if you don’t think there’s waste, I’m out of here.”
GO GO Go Go Go Steve ... go Steve ... just please go
(someone behind me calls Price an "idgit", and I laugh out loud)
Coffey wants to know why he can’t design the project himself, hell, anyone can do it. Response is that city engineer Tim Marinaro is not licensed to do it and can’t be expected to, but at least we have a city engineer again after many years.
Coffey: “Here’s the biggest problem I have … new people … thing is … told people twict (twice-t)… every time you turn around, I’m not gong to take anybody on face value anymore.”
“Not going to sit here and appropriate more money.”
Messer now calls Coffey out, dramatically: According to the rules of order, which Coffey regularly flouts, Coffey must relinquish the chair if he wants to speak on an issue. Coffey looks annoyed.
Price: “He has a right to speak.”
Coffey: “They can come back and ask for more (money)”
Now some of the storm water victims stand up and begin agreeing to pay extra to make things happen. “I’ll pay that money.”
Storm water president prlomises to watch over increased funds.
Pat McLaughlin now (why?) wants to find out about paving. Plan and master plan for paving was drawn up, and then Spring Street was the first one to be paved, how come?
Kay Garry says: Spring was paved with LRS money, not the $2 million allocated by the council. What any of Pat's thoghts tonight have to do with reality is getting harder to determine. Bet his cell phone was buzzing with Erika mash notes prior to the meeting.
Pat should yet again be the swing vote, although the late arriving Bluegill thinks that Pat will vote yes.
My prediction:
For: BC, JoGo, PM, DB, JM,
Against: SP, JeGa, KZ, DC
Actual vote on 1st reading (passes 5-4):
For: BC, JoGo, JeGa, DB, JM,
Against: SP, KZ, DC, PM
There'll be much chicanery on this one by the time we get to the third reading.
---
G-09-16 (Messer 1) refuse, garbage and yard waste user/service fees
Price: We put the horse before the cart (huh?), it’s called “enabling” … some people have money … people on fixed incomes ... despair and gloom ... trucks running round … guy here will do the whole thing for less …
Does Steve Price have a real job?
Gonder: Bring the price up to break even on the disparity, then the buck fifty’s (got junk oral bid) adds up to less than Ecotech.
Gonder: Why does Ecotech need to be the favored vendor?
Council attorney Stan Robison wants to look it over. Does it have to be bid out again for a whole new service if it's a different service?
Shane: We have a bid of sorts from Got Junk. Must see what is involved and what would be done.
Messer: Can we pass this with no dollar figure in place?
Coffey: Won’t die regardless. It’s only first reading.
Much futile discussion over terms and such. No one knows anything. 9:50 p.m.
Gahan: Let it rip. Messer offered to table. Shane says, now we have a potential solution. Keep the ball rolling, and go from there.
Coffey: “I got a question, irregardless, you’d have to sit there, at that point in time, you’d have to rebid this.”
Shane says they’ll be reviewing this in the morning.
Stan: New services have to be rebid.
Actual vote on 1st reading:
For: JoGo, DB, JM,
Against: BC, SP, KZ, DC, PM, JeGa
Does not pass first reading.
---
Z-09-09 (McLaughlin 2 & 3) Sprigler Builders with Krafty John, Coes Lane
Pat McLaughlin says he tabled it and doesn’t know why it has been revived, but Benedetti explains the "becomes law if not considered a certain number of days from introduction" clause, and illustrates that Pat doesn’t know procedure. A bad night for him. He needs something that is a core plitical value. Even Price has it, although Price's is always wrong. Pat wavers because he doesn;t stand for anything.
We leave before it is decided, because it's my brithday, damn it, and I want a beer.
end of report
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment