I have to be honest with you; I find it hard to sit comfortably in the town board meetings with this crew. I tend to watch on TV. I have a hard time controlling my temper with some of the comments and attitudes of my board. I am happy the Mr. Reilly has taken Chairman Michalek’s warnings to heart and has tempered his comments.
Here are my comments on the town board meeting:
1. In public comments Dave Nowicki commented that he’s really proud and happy to see a cool new electronic system in use at the fire department that sends an invoice at the conclusion of rescue runs..… (Of course, I paraphrase.) The fact is that this system is far from implemented, even though we have the equipment to do to this. In reality our department has not invoiced ANY rescue runs since 12/18. Mr. Reilly must have fed him the wrong information.
2. On the Kaishian property, we’re talking about sending a strongly worded letter to stop a development that the village has apparently thoroughly vetted. If that does not work, we’re going to seek a court order? You’ve got to be kidding me. Not that I disagree in principle with protecting our groundwater, but if we had any sort of positive relationship with the village, we could ask them to provide the testing we’re looking to compel them to do. I agree that more communication is needed with the DNR and village on this matter. It’s unfortunate that Supervisor Singert’s opinion is so thoroughly rejected. It’s painful to watch.
3. I’m looking forward to control our own zoning, but our board has not completed a fiscal impact analysis. I’m only concerned about the cost.
4. On the park development, it’s a good idea. We should expend the money in a timely manner when it’s collected for a specific purpose. Have we sought any grants? There are grants available for communities our size for park development.
5. I suspected a candidates forum was in the works without the knowledge of the candidates… Ahhh, Mr. Reilly speaks up from the gallery to give the details of a forum. So there is a forum scheduled for 3/16, at 7:30pm. That’s nice to know. I will be in Chicago that night on my way to vacation. If anyone wants to know how I feel, please read my blog or call me. My cell number is 414-708-9466. I’m happy to speak with any resident about how I feel about any particular issue.
6. Mr. Craig must read my blog... Under the item “n. Vernon Fire Department services, and the costs present, and future for the same.” He talked about the town budget and the reduction in shared revenue from the state. It looks like we’re going to lose close to $200,000 in shared revenue. We need to start planning for this. In addition, under this item, we’re discussing school board updates to the citizens….what gives? Discussion items should really be on the agenda….but, that’s just me. Ahh, now the soap issue under this same agenda item. Does anyone want to sit down with me and go through this issue and write a summary for me? If so, give me a shout. I have the data and invoices for this issue. I just don’t know to where to even go with it. Mr. Craig is dead wrong on his representation. And, oh, by the way, a big part of the return of money from the last fire board was Chief Buchholtz’s salary of nearly $90,000 a year in pay and benefits. Under this same agenda item Chairman Michalek is discussing drainage and other issues around the town….these meetings really drive me nuts.
I’m about done watching the board meeting. I have one final thought; why do we do all the business at the board meeting? I’ve sat on several boards, and boards are typically decision making bodies. They receive recommendations from trusted committees, then act on those recommendations. There needs to be a variety of opinions and experiences brought into play on issues. Too bad our board has removed many of the residents of the commissions and committees. My observation is that our board lays out and discusses all the details and formulates courses of action, then decides how to act. There really is very little input from others in the community. This seems like a bit of a waste of time for the board. Don’t they have enough to do? In my opinion we should have trusted committees to do the leg work and prepare recommendations. Then the board can be presented with the facts to accept or reject recommendations. Just my two cents.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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Well, it’s starting up!
ReplyDeleteMike, Marilyn & Diane please realize for all the crap you are about to receive, it is the work of about 5 to 6 people. First, for the general public, this is what this SAD group has done so far. I don’t know if it passed but they tried to past a new ordinance on the size of election signs. Even though, Tom had placed a big sign up last year. I think they felt they couldn’t compete with Vince’s signs (Thank you Vince) so what do they do, they band big signs (sure these guys might be sleazy but give them credit for thinking of everything). So then, I hear an ex-supervisor was in Town Hall looking at Rodell & Diane’s financials from last year campaign. He wanted to see if they over spent on signs.
Then in the beginning of March around the 2nd or 3rd they reserve the Town Hall for the debate. What I have heard is that they had notified all the newspapers (Journal, Chief & Freeman) I’m sure they talk to Tom, Bill and Dave. But they did not contact any of the other candidate’s (Mike, Marilyn & Diane). This was not an accident but done on purposes. My money says it was in the hope that none of them could make it, that way they could say look those 3 don’t care!
Let’s not forget as a Town we already spent around $2000 on their campaign. That letter on the Fire Dept. was nothing more than propaganda, trying to make then look good. For those of you, who don’t think so; ask yourself why there was no listing of expenses. You know Consultants report, lawyer fees, $400,000 for the new Fire Truck, Pagers, Turn- out gear. Also, why didn’t they tell us what is left that they have to purchase? It funny how they didn’t mention “The Bidding Strategy”.
Finally, there is a comment in the Chief “MD1955” let’s just call him Joe. I am no longer filled with hate for this person. Instead I truly feel sorry for him, as I now see him for what he’s worth. I feel confident in saying “It was never about the power, but here is a person who never had a life until about 5 years ago. No one knew who he was or even knew he was alive. He finally had a time in his life, were he felt wanted and now he knows it is going to disappear soon”. So the next time he writes something or speaks in public, don’t hate him, show him the pity he deserves!