During the Public Participation portion of tonight's Council meeting-- longtime Fairhope resident Debra Green questioned the accuracy of Council meeting "minutes"-- particularly those of the Oct. 23, 2006 meeting where the controversial Fly Creek PUD (aka "Publix") was first being proposed/discussed.
Green: "In my 17 years as a nurse (prior job) I found out the hard way . . . if its not documented . . . it wasn't done . . . that apparently applies to Council meetings too."
Green went on to lament the fact that a proposal (motion) to electronically (sound) record the meetings (by Councilman Kingrea) at the last (Aug. 24th) Council Meeting died for lack of a second (as Council President, Mrs. Quinn could not second the motion she supported).
Green: "Its very important the meetings be recorded . . . for a number of reasons . . . Daphne, Mobile and other cities are already doing it . . . don't think anybody in this City would argue its not necessary . . . especially considering the omission of important information from the Oct. 23, 2006 meeting."
Mrs. Green went on to explain that--at last Tuesday's Planning and Zoning meeting-- the official minutes (hand-written notes, usually taken by the City Clerk) of the Oct. 2006 Council meeting did not match the recollections of a number of citizens (witnesses) who were present--concerning statements allegedly made by the Fly Creek PUD's developer: "Mr. Corte made all kinds of promises to live up to all standards/ordinances in place at the time the next phase of his development came up . . . now he's saying he doesn't have to . . . I hope that he will change his mind."
"But . . . (just) for the reason alone-- that the information didn't get in there . . . the people of Fairhope will suffer . . . I'd like to ask you to reconsider . . . and have the minutes recorded . . . they're documents, your records and you need them."
Publisher's Notes:
1. According to media reports, Phase II of the Fly Creek PUD was approved by the Planning Commission, but without the changes the developer was requesting (buffers vs setbacks).
2, About 6 years ago-- after citizens' suggestions--the Mayor floated the idea of video recording/televising Council meetings on the Public Access Channel (Mediacom, ch 5); but it died due to cost concerns. (The Baldwin County Commission currently televises its meetings there.)
3. When a franchise agreement was awarded (about 2 years ago) to AT&T for its competing "cable" system (U-verse--expected to be rolled out next year)-- the possibility of using one of their channels for televising Council Meetings was discussed as well.
During the Public Participation portion of tonight's Council meeting-- longtime Fairhope resident Debra Green questioned the accuracy of Council meeting "minutes"-- particularly those of the Oct. 23, 2006 meeting where the controversial Fly Creek PUD (aka "Publix") was first being proposed/discussed.
Green: "In my 17 years as a nurse (prior job) I found out the hard way . . . if its not documented . . . it wasn't done . . . that apparently applies to Council meetings too."
Green went on to lament the fact that a proposal (motion) to electronically (sound) record the meetings (by Councilman Kingrea) at the last (Aug. 24th) Council Meeting died for lack of a second (as Council President, Mrs. Quinn could not second the motion she supported).
Green: "Its very important the meetings be recorded . . . for a number of reasons . . . Daphne, Mobile and other cities are already doing it . . . don't think anybody in this City would argue its not necessary . . . especially considering the omission of important information from the Oct. 23, 2006 meeting."
Mrs. Green went on to explain that--at last Tuesday's Planning and Zoning meeting-- the official minutes (hand-written notes, usually taken by the City Clerk) of the Oct. 2006 Council meeting did not match the recollections of a number of citizens (witnesses) who were present--concerning statements allegedly made by the Fly Creek PUD's developer: "Mr. Corte made all kinds of promises to live up to all standards/ordinances in place at the time the next phase of his development came up . . . now he's saying he doesn't have to . . . I hope that he will change his mind."
"But . . . (just) for the reason alone-- that the information didn't get in there . . . the people of Fairhope will suffer . . . I'd like to ask you to reconsider . . . and have the minutes recorded . . . they're documents, your records and you need them."
Publisher's Notes:
1. According to media reports, Phase II of the Fly Creek PUD was approved by the Planning Commission, but without the changes the developer was requesting (buffers vs setbacks).
2, About 6 years ago-- after citizens' suggestions--the Mayor floated the idea of video recording/televising Council meetings on the Public Access Channel (Mediacom, ch 5); but it died due to cost concerns. (The Baldwin County Commission currently televises its meetings there.)
3. When a franchise agreement was awarded (about 2 years ago) to AT&T for its competing "cable" system (U-verse--expected to be rolled out next year)-- the possibility of using one of their channels for televising Council Meetings was discussed as well.
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