Last on the Agenda

Want to get screwed? Be last on the agenda!

Last week there was a city council meeting that went on and on. David was not supposed to be up until the very last item on the agenda. He was representing a client.

Just to be honest, I would of course want his client to win. However, this really has nothing to do with that. This has to do with a very tired city council, who just wanted the meeting to be over so they could just go home!

I had listened to several items on the agenda. I do this from time to time, to find out what is going on in town or not. I listen because I need a good laugh. I listen because I love to see how the rich or powerful get their own set of brand new rules. I listen to see how the little guy can't get a five foot deck added to his house, yet a McMansion can be built into the side of a hill after it was said we were done allowing McMansion's in town. Often times the council listens to DRB (design review board) issues because they are in dispute. And in case you forgot, one of those in the DBR is Jan Brady.....Seriously, I mean Eve Plumb, a la Brady Bunch fame.

After listening to issues and both sides, the council would debate and come to a conclusion. This went on all night. By the time the last issue was addressed, the council listened to both sides again. What happened next, is what pisses me off. One of the members said, "Oh we have heard this issue before. I agree with DRB." Motion made and passes, without discussion. Meeting adjourned until next week. Somebody calls out from the audience and the mayor says, "You will have to bring that up next week, we have been her seven hours!" So, basically, if you want to be heard by the city council, don't let them put you last on the agenda to be heard at 11:30 PM.

I am not sure if the guy should have gotten the city council to review the issue, but it seems to me, that their minds were made up long before the issue came up. Probably while doing their homework. Why then, do they even have the item on the agenda? From what I heard during the arguments, one lady was not allowing her neighbor's work to be done due to the principal of the thing. He had a plan and now he wanted to add more. (In my book, that is what additions or improvements are for!) That turned out to be the bottom line. They listened to her, somebody who's house is basically a rental anyhow. They did say they were going to move back to town and inhabit that house though. All the while, the other person, doesn't get to do what he wanted to do, even though, his architect did everything to appease the woman and he had neighbors in favor of what he was going to do, saying it would not impact that woman's life at all. It came down to two things, the principle of the thing and the fact that the city council members were tired. This is not fair. They should have continued the item if they were to freaking tired. If they were going to deny it, they really should have said why, other than, they had heard it before and it was late. They missed a chance to show that compromise does work, even if they would have had to force it!