Friday, August 15, 2008

Will the public be shut out again?

The Army Corps of Engineers returns to town again to pitch its ideas for siting an Army Reserve Training Center here.

The meeting is Tuesday August 19, 6:30 pm in Council Chambers in City Hall. According to emails it is "invitation only."

Will the town and the Army once again make the mistake of not allowing the public to at least hear what they are planning?

It should be noted that all Common Council members have been invited. If six members show up, then it is a quorum, and thereby an official council meeting, which, unless it is declared in executive session (and there's no reason for that), then by law it is open to the public and the press.

2 comments:

Stephen H. Devoto said...

The mayor's office has told me that this is a public meeting, no members of the public or the media will be excluded. However, it is NOT a public hearing. The only people who will be allowed to speak are the invited officials. I'll try to give more details in a posting today or tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Yes, public hearings can be so messy. All those bothersome yet credible folks who do not agree with the Mayor or his minions. That is the reason reason the City did not hold a public hearing when it announced its Army Base sites-selected-with-a-slant alternatives, in Maromas...