Originally Posted by
Urbanized
Oh, please. I didn't see Pete's post because apparently he was composing and posted it at about the same time that I was composing and posted my most recent one. I missed it. I certainly am not afraid of responding to different views, which anyone here should know about me at this point.
I haven't had much time to catch up in this thread because I was WORKING TODAY. And frankly, I mostly try to avoid this trainwreck of a thread when I'm on the board - and have for years - because it's a stacked deck, mostly just a bunch of circular reasoning, usually by people who have an axe to grind in some way with the CC. Pete was right in being concerned about it being an echo chamber. It is one indeed. It bums me out; I'm not going to change minds here, and there are many other places on the board where I would rather spend my time.
It's not my job to sell people on whether or not we should have a CC; there was a vote and the majority of voters chose to have one. As long as that is the case, I personally think we should have one that functions to the best benefit of the City and its taxpayers. I feel EXACTLY the same way about the streetcar and any other MAPS project that you or anyone else might bring up.
Regarding these assertions that just because City staff and officials might be privy to ideas/information that have/has not yet been made public its the same thing as a lack of transparency; they're wrong. I hate to break it to folks, but City staff, elected officials and consultants have meetings, the call each other, they do research, ALL OF THE DAMN DAY, EVERY DAY. It's WHAT WE PAY THEM TO DO. Where do people think staff reports and recommendations come from? Do they think committees and the Council just show up at public meetings and start from scratch in their decision-making?
City staff's jobs REQUIRE THEM to gather facts, make sure they are properly vetted, make recommendations, and execute as directed by appropriate governing bodies.
I'm not saying negotiations are happening; I'm saying they are looking at all of the different methods they can bring to bear to solve the issues at hand. That's it. In concert with the consultant and ultimately with the committee, MAPS board and City Council they will THEN make decisions. Every bit of this is entirely correct and appropriate, and it's disingenuous and reckless to suggest otherwise.
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