MAY 19^TH MEETING CHANGED FROM

OPEN MEETING TO ZOOM MEETING

In a prepared statement to the Board of Aldermen Mayor Michael McDonough wrote:

"Because we only have one item on the agenda with a public hearing, we will be holding the May 19^th, 2020 meeting via Zoom, at 7:00 PM,  instead of a physical meeting. I think that waiting until June for a physical meeting will best serve the safety of the board and the staff at this time."

"Also, we will not have another BOA meeting until June 9^th, 2020 because the June 2^nd, 2020 meeting date is on an election date. There is one thing on the ballot for those in a small portion of our city to vote on.  The date was changed by the Governor from April 7^th, 2020 to the June 2^nd date due to concerns about the COVID19 virus." 

To view last Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting use the following link. Item Number 2 covers the discussion for Mayor Pro Tem.

USE THIS LINK: MAYOR PRO TEM DISCUSSION

BY GREG WALTERS

Mayor Pro Tem Chosen

in Marathon Session

THIS MEETING WAS PACKED WITH DRAMA

Last Tuesday the Board of Aldermen held what should be their last public meeting via ZOOM. After spending about two hours on regular business the Board went into a marathon debate over the choosing of a new Mayor Pro Tem. The meeting finally ended at 11:00 pm.

Here is the short version of what happened . . .

Early in the meeting Alderman Bonnaye Mims asked to add a discussion item to the agenda. She told Board she wanted to discuss the Mayor Pro Tem. The Board agreed to her request and added the it as the last item on the evening’s agenda.

After two hours of taking care of the regular business Alderman Mims brought forth her discussion item. To everyone’s surprise, she ended the discussion by nominating herself for Mayor Pro Tem. (motion seconded by Alderman Ryan Myers.

A lengthy debate ensued. Many members on the Board objected to what they viewed as a subterfuge to sneak in her nomination when the vote had already been scheduled for the May 19, 2020 agenda.*

None the less, the Mayor approved her motion. He said he preferred to hold the Mayor Pro Tem election during a regular (open) public session. But that it was the Board’s decision.

Alderman Greg Walters made a motion to carry the item over to the next regular Board meeting scheduled for May 19^th. Alderman Bill VanBuskirk pointed out the City Administrator had informed the Board via email the vote would be held at the second meeting in May. The vote on the motion was split 5 to 5. Despite the Mayor’s earlier statement that he preferred to hold the vote in a public setting he voted “NO”, against holding the item over until the May 19^th meeting.

The Board then voted on Alderman Mims motion to make herself Mayor Pro Tem. The motion failed by a vote of five to five. Under Robert’s Rules of Order the Mayor is not allowed to break a tie on choosing Mayor Pro Tem.

Alderman Derek Ward then made a motion adjourn to the meeting. This made sense. Mims motion had already been discussed and voted on. The Mayor once again said it was up to the Board, and vote "NO" against adjournment.

The motion would have moved any additional votes f0r Mayor Pro Tem to the May 19^th meeting. The roll was called. The motion tied 5 to 5. Once again, despite his stated belief the Board should hold the meeting in public session the Mayor voted “NO” against the motion to adjourn and move the election to the May 19^th meeting.

A motion was then made to nominate Alderman Derek Ward for the position of Mayor Pro Tem. Alderman Ward declined the nomination.

A motion was then made to nominate Alderman M.J. VanBuskirk as Mayor Pro Tem. Alderman Bill VanBuskirk told the Board he would recuse himself from the vote since it could be perceived as a conflict of interest.

That motion failed as well.

Finally, Alderman Jim Aziere made a motion to nominate Ryan Myers for the position of Mayor Pro Tem. That motion passed by a vote of 6 yes to 4 no.

The meeting was adjourned.

*City Administrator Damon Hodges had previously confirmed by email that the Mayor Pro Tem election was scheduled for May 19th. The May 19th meeting will be held at City Hall and open is open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm.

BY PAUL LIVIUS

COMMENTARY . . .

Let’s Set
the Record Straight

Last Tuesday’s meeting was a wild one. Everyone can watch it via the link at the top of the page and draw their own conclusions from what was said.

The Mayor made a very misleading comment during the debate. Alderman VanBuskirk had called the motion by Miss Mims to nominate herself out of order. It was to say the least . . . sneaky. In the conversation that followed the Mayor said the following.

“This is not out of order. There have been tons of motions like this with votes on them after the motion was made.”

The use of the phrase “tons of motions” is misleading. A ton is a customary unit of weight, equal to 907 kg/2,000 lb. 

I did some checking. Board members rarely bring motions to  the table on their own. In the last year there have been only five such motions made. Those legislative motions are:

RYAN MYERS

• Creation of Licensing and Taxing fees on owners of rental property. These fees are currently being implemented by the City.

GREG WALTERS

• Creation of a Parks Improvement Committee: The end result of this discussion item was to institute nightly patrols of city parks to stop curfew violations.
• Language Change to Zoning Application Procedure: This would change the notification procedure required to be sent to property owners when surrounding property is up for rezoning. It has been sent to the Planning and Zoning Commission for review.
• Elimination of the Late Fee on Sanitary Sewer Billings.This item was approved by the Board and is currently in effect for a one month period. 

BONNAYE MIMS

• Creation of an Ethics and Conduct Code: This item is pending review by the Board of Aldermen after suggested revisions by the City Attorney.
• Discussion on Mayor Pro Tem: The Board approved Mims request for a discussion. However, a discussion is not an election. The Board voted down her attempt to nominate herself.

I am not sure what the Mayor means by a “ton” of such motions. But I do not think that five motions in one year equals a ton.

The Mayor’s comments suggest that what Mims did is common practice.

It is not.

Both Ryan Myers and Greg Walters have brought items to the table on their own. Each of them have done their due diligence and provided information to Board members before making their presentation to the Board. Both Aldermen scheduled these discussion items on the agenda with proper notice to the City Clerk.

Crime and Police

Activity Overview

• There was one sex crime reported this week. A juvenile girl received an unsolicited, sexually explicit video over social media from an adult male who was in her “friends” list. The investigation is ongoing.
• On April 27th, at approx. 3:50 pm, a group of teenagers fought each other in the street in the 9000 block of 67th St. One of the participants wore brass knuckles to strike the victim. No serious injuries were reported.
• On April 27th, at approx. 10:30 pm, a resident of an apartment in the 9800 block of 60th St accidentally fired a shot into the apartment below, which was occupied. No one was injured, but officers determined that the gun had been reported stolen and an arrest was made.
•  On April 30th, at approx. 4:30 pm, an adult female was shot at a residence in the 7900 block of Evanston by someone she knows. She was transported to the hospital with serious injuries but is expected to survive. A suspect has been identified and the investigation is ongoing.
•  On May 2nd, at approx. 2:45, officers were called to an apartment in the 8600 block of Utopia Dr regarding a stabbing. A woman reported that someone she knew had stabbed her in the hand but refused to identify the person or cooperate with the investigation. The injury required several stitches and the victim signed a prosecution waiver.

On May 2nd, at approx. 6:45 pm, officers were called to the intersection of 55th & Blue Ridge Cutoff. A woman reported that her boyfriend struck her several times with his fists and attempted to run her over with a car. She was not injured, and the suspect was arrested at the scene.

To leave a comment use this link

POST A COMMENT