The Overland City Council met on July 9th, 2007 at the Overland Community Center. All Councilpersons where present with the exception of Councilperson Keller who, it was said, called City Hall to let them know she would be unable to attend as she was ill. I would like to extend get well wishes to Councilperson Keller and I sincerely hope she is back on her feet before the League of Women Voter's Candidates Debate on Wednesday, August 11th at the Lions Hall.
You can see the video of the entire meeting for yourself here:
I would like to thank the Council for moving the resident’s comments portion of the meetings to after the roll call. This makes the comments and concerns of our residents part of the public record, but it also avoids the confusion of who "officially" controls and moderates the comments if the meeting has not yet been called to order (
which was an issue that always bugged me). When this was first brought up, Councilperson Owensby supported it, though he expressed concerns about personal attacks and the like becoming part of the record. Thankfully there haven’t been any such comments lately. Perhaps the fact that those comments will now become part of the permanent record along with the name of the resident who made them acts as a deterrent to some degree.
During residents comments Mike Oakes expressed concerns about the City's website and asked that they do a better job getting the agenda for meetings as well as announcements for any city sponsored events online. He mentioned that he understand that the MIS department is down a person and that the City should hire a replacement for Bill who retired earlier this year. President Pro Tem May pointed out that Rich was on vacation last week, which is likely why some recent content had not been added to the site.
Personally, I think Rich is doing an excellent job when you consider he is the only one at City hall keeping all of the three departments computers running, maintaining the City's Network, as well as the City's website (
not to mention all the secondary responsibilities that have been added to that department over the years). As I understand it the City did budget for a 2nd person in the MIS department, though I am not sure if they have authorized starting the hiring process yet.
Mr. Oakes also asked if the issue of Council cell phones was ever resolved to which President Pro Tem May responded saying that issue was "still up in the air" (though it was later resolved at this meeting).
Another resident brought up an issue with street cleaning. She asked if there was a schedule for when the various streets get cleaned so residents could make sure their cars are off that street. Chuck Boone responded by saying he would try to work something out, however with all of the projects the department is trying to catch up on as well as their limited manpower available he was not sure if this would be possible. While I sympathize with him concerning the backlog problems at Public Works, street cleaning and the like are more important than people might think.
When I lived in Kansas City I lived in a neighborhood that at one time had a dozen crack houses. A neighborhood group formed up and worked to eliminate those crack houses. They also worked to clean the neighborhood with monthly cleanup days where everyone came out to pick up liter and the like. As time went on, we had less and less litter to clean up. It seems that when an area is dirty, it tends to promote more filth. With no liter in site, people were less likely to toss that soda can or McDonald's wrapper on the ground. A cleaner neighborhood also tends improve property values and the like. In my opinion street cleaning should be a regular service with a set schedule. Other projects come and go but this is one that will never end. Having a set schedule will help ensure the roads are clear of cars which makes the cleaning much more effective.
Jim Schmidt was the last speaker. He reminded everyone that the League of Women Voters will be holding a Mayoral Candidates Debate at Lions Hall (near the intersection of Lackland and Sims) this Wednesday (July 11th) at 7:00PM. He also asked that if anyone was an American Sign Language (ALS) speaker, he would like to talk to them about providing this service at the debate. Jim mentioned his own concerns about the City website and suggested that they consider adding email addresses and perhaps a suggestion box type mechanism to better allow the public to communicate with City Hall.
After residents comments the meeting moved pretty swiftly. The minutes of three meetings were approved with only minor clarification sought and amazingly the Council voted unanimously to approve the bills without discussion or complaint (
since I don't believe I’ve seen this before I wonder if there were actually any bills this week or if this was just a formality J/K).
There was some discussion during this portion of the meeting on several issues. The Council discussed the problems at Brooks park with vandalism and the like as well as ways to address it. Ultimately, problems like these are best solved by the residents. As Councilperson Cumanale pointed out, if people that live around the various parks could come together to form something like a park watch group and try to always have eyes on the parks to call the police when trouble arises we’d likely see a rapid reduction of issues at Brooks as well as all the other parks. People can complain about these issues forever but if they do not become part of the solution the problem will never be resolved. Councilperson Conlon suggested that we need to create a “citizens committee” for parks to better take advantage of the human resources our city has to offer in the way of volunteers.
From there the City Clerk had a few business and solicitors licenses to present and the Council voted unanimously to renew
T Billy Buffets liquor license. There was also no City Attorney's report as there were no ordinances to be considered.
The Public Works report was brief. Councilperson Owensby asked Chuck Boone about when they could expect the lights at Brooks Park. Mr. Boone explained that Public works is currently swamped with trying to catch up on all the things left undone during his "unscheduled vacation", however they will first need to work out the specifications and then go out for bids. Councilperson Owensby did point out that he realized Mr. Boone was not at fault for not getting this done back in August when the last year's capital improvements budget was passed, but he wanted to make sure that this was a priority.
The Chief’ Report started out with the chief reminding people that the City had been awarded a 100% Grant of a Laser radar detector (a $3000.00 item) and had several officers trained in its use. He explained that the difference between this and other radar detectors is its accuracy and the ability to easily target one specific vehicle. Recently, a few hours of use of this device at Page Ave and Hwy 170 resulted 23 speeding citations being issued including 2 BMWs that were caught "drag racing" at 87 miles per hour. The Chief also recalled one woman pulled over for excessive speed who turned out to be in labor. She was transported to the hospital and no citation was issued for this particular instance of speeding. The Chief suggested that the public protect themselves, others on the road, as well as their wallets by slowing down.
Councilperson Owensby asked the Chief about several issues. One was a robbery he had heard about (which I assume is
this story) that the Chief explained he could not comment on it as the investigation was ongoing. Another was
this incident which the chief explained was also an ongoing investigation. The chief pointed out that since a complaint was filed it is also an internal affairs investigation which makes it a personnel matter, meaning he is limited as to what he can discuss publicly. That being said there is no reason these issues could not be discussed privately in executive session as the Council has a responsibility to ensure that the City's interests are being protected. As a result I assume these issues were discussed at the executive session.
Finally Councilperson Owensby asked about an issue concerning a current police officer who has been out on medical leave and whose wife recently wrote to all the Council members. Chief pointed out that it was inappropriate to talk about that issue in public because it was a personnel matter, it was also a medical matter, and finally, as the officer has retained Council, it was now a legal matter. I imagine this issue was discussed in the executive session but it might be awhile before we get any information on it.
I am a bit surprised that Councilperson Owensby publicly raised several of these issues. Though the Sunshine Law does not require that you hold such discussions in executive session it does allow you to do so. Considering of of these concerns is a medical issue and that creates
HIPPA law concerns I would have thought Councilperson Owensby would be cautious and try to avoid potentially creating a situation that could lead to a lawsuit against the city for disclosing private medical information publicly.
I have an article about this officer that I was putting the finishing touches on this weekend. I should have it online later this evening.
Mr. May had a short President Pro Tem report. He thanked Councilperson Cumanale for the successful Ward 1 event at Wild Acres on Sunday. I attended that gathering which was completely social and relaxed in nature. It was a fun time visiting with neighbors and I would highly recommend that everyone attend any future such events in Overland. Councilperson Cumanale paid for this event which I greatly appreciate. However, I would like to see if we can't get some people together to help fund future events like this in all the Wards. If you would be interested in discussing this with me, please
email me and we'll see what we can do. I don't feel that these events should be funded by the City but I also don't want to see our Council people, who have the same day to day home budget concerns that we all do, having to fund these events themselves either.
President Pro Tem May also raised an issue about conduct at Council meetings. He explained that there were recommended procedures in Robert's Rules of Order that serves to help avoid conflict at meetings. He read those recommendations and asked that the Council adhere to them in the future. Mr. May mentioned that we have had some issues over the last year that he would like to avoid in the future and would like to see the Council continue to conduct business in a "professional and civil" manor.
Though I doubt anyone can look at meetings from the last year and not see these issues for themselves Councilman Owensby took exception to this. He seemed to feel that this was directed at former Mayor Purzner. He also said that former Mayor Purzner raised the same issue and then Councilman May and others disputed the issue with her. Having attended virtually every meeting of former Mayor Purzner's tenure I have to say that I never once heard her direct anyone to address their comments to the chair. She did ask that people refrain from personal attacks though her definition of what a personal attack was seemed to vary depending on who was speaking and what they were speaking about in my opinion.
Councilperson Owensby actually said that he felt this was a "personal attack". How asking the entire Council to follow a procedure that better enables business to be conducted in a professional and civil manor could be a personal attack (
especially when you consider that no names or specifics were mentioned by Mr. May) is beyond me. President Pro Tem May responded simply by saying that he certainly didn't intend it as a personal attack, he simply intended it as a way for the Council to better move forward.
There was no new business discussed though several old business items came up. Councilperson Jones asked about several issues. The first was the Council Cell Phone issue. Councilperson Jones made a motion to eliminate Council cell phones and discussion followed. Most of the Council seemed to agree that they did not need the cell phones and that the city would be better served by providing those phones to field employees. Councilperson Owensby took exception to this (
as far as I know he is the only Councilperson who currently has a City provided cell phone).
Councilperson Owensby said his bill totals $16.67 cents a month. Well, the bill for his "city paid" cell phone that runs from April 4th, 2007 to May 3rd, 2007 that I have in my hand (
thanks to the Freedom of Information Act), has total usage charges of $218.40. According to the bill 553 minutes of use came under the heading of "Promotional" with no charge for them. However, the other 910 minutes cost $218.40. This issue came up at the May 22nd, 2007 Budget Workshop meeting. As Lisa from the City's finance department explained at that meeting, Verizon has previously waved overages on Council phones. This might be why Councilperson Owensby said his bill was only $16.67. However, she also pointed out that they will no longer be waiving those charges. As a result, if the phones are used excessively in the future the City could be stuck with the bill if the Councilperson does not pay it (here the previous
article and video on this issue). I am glad the Council voted 6-1 in favor of eliminating Council cell phones as it also eliminates the potential risk of being stuck with huge bills run up by Council members.
Councilperson Owensby said he needs to be able to stay in touch with his residents and that this is part of his job. While I agree with that, Mr. Owensby has a home phone. He only lists his home number (
not the cell number he claims to need to stay in touch with residents) on the City website
here, as well as the various advertisements, letters, etc that he has sent out over the years. If this cell phone is for communicating with residents why does he not share the number?
Cell phones are wonderfully convenient and allow for better communication by enabling people to talk to others from anywhere. However, those of us that feel we need this convenience pay for it. Councilperson Owensby claimed at the May 22nd Budget meeting that he is often out in St. Charles County for his job as a substitute teacher and thus needs this cell phone. However, there is no reason he cannot wait until he gets home to Overland to call residents back, especially when they're only way to contact him is via that same home phone. That is with the exception of the select group of politicos who seem to have his cell number and whose calls make up a huge portion of the bill referenced above.
Councilperson Owensby then asked where he should send the bill to the city for the cost of calling residents back (
might I suggest 9703 Theodosia sir?). Most home phone plans allow for unlimited free local calls so calling residents does not have to cost anything beyond what Councilman Owensby already pays to have home telephone service. That is unless he wants the convenience of calling them from anywhere, in which case he needs to personally pay for that convenience like the rest of us do. Mr. Owensby is fond of saying that we lost city services due to unnecessary spending. Well the cost of Council cell phones definitely fit into that category in my opinion.
Councilperson Jones reminded Mr. Owensby the Council members are paid $500.00 a month. Councilperson Owensby should be able to fund his own phone (
which would have a bill NOT subject for FOI requests by the way) without issue.
Councilperson Owensby went on to say that he shouldn't have to pay for computers or internet for the job of Councilperson either. Well he doesn't have to. Mr. Owensby could choose to use the freely available internet access at any public library. Again, if he wants the convenience of being able to surf the net from home he needs to pay for it, like the rest of us do.
At the end of this discussion, Councilperson Schneider pointed out that the former Councilperson's cell phone bill Mr. Owensby referenced was paid for by his "
benefactors and supporters". Well that sounds a bit ominous. Perhaps these are the same "
benefactors and supporters" that paid that Councilperson's outstanding property taxes as well (not to be confused with the outstanding personal property taxes Councilperson Schneider recently paid for on his own "under protest"). What I would really like to know is how I get some "benefactors and supporters" like that?
On a comical note: Early in the cell phone discussion Councilperson Owensby said he would like to have a picture phone. He said he was trying to show Mr. Boone a pothole on Woodson Road (note he said "on Woodson Road") but he was not sure where he was at and a picture phone would allow him to show it to Mr. Boone. Well, first, he obviously knew he was on Woodson road. Secondly, what good is a picture of a pot hole without a location? Should Chuck Boone or our street department workers drive all over Overland trying to find a pothole, damaged sidewalk, or whatever else with nothing to go on but a picture? I'm sorry but that’s simply ridiculous, we do not need street maintenance APBs.Councilperson Jones also asked if there would be any more discussion about selling Brooks Park. President Pro Tem May suggested they could look into this issue at the next Council Workshop meeting. While I understand that vandalism at all our parks, and this park in particular, has been costly, I have the same issue with this proposal that I had with Councilperson Keller's proposal to sell the Seminary property at Wild Acres. We need to investigate all the ways we can try to resolve the issues with this property before we consider selling it. I agree with Councilperson Conlon's suggestion at this meeting in that we need to establish a citizen's committee for parks to get the residents directly involved in the process. We have a ton of human resources available to the City if the Council would simply create ways for people to volunteer and help. Though I really dislike the name, Councilperson Schneider’s “
Ward Warriors” approach could be greatly beneficial to the city and the residents in a similar fashion.
The last issue raised was by Councilman O'Connell who asked if we were moving forward with starting the hiring process for a City Administrator though the
East-West Gateway Council. The response was that the City was going to wait until after the August election to start that process. I imagine this is to ensure that the new Mayor will be directly involved. What's curious to me is that at an earlier meeting the Council voted to move forward with this process. So the question is, on who's authority was it stalled?
The Council adjourned to executive session. Though we generally don't know what is discussed in those sessions it was obvious that part of it was to approve the hiring of three new officers to Overland police department. I would like to welcome all of them to Overland and wish them the best of luck here. I hope I am able to attend a joint retirement party for all three of them in 20 years. With the hiring of those officers OPD is finally back to its "full" 45 officer manning. Now, if only we could return to the original 47 man department (
it was reduced to 45 under the Dody administration due to budget constraints) or better yet get to a 50 man PD which would be in line with the average for communities of our size and demographics.
Now, no complaints! I warned you at the start that this was a long one. Seriously, feel free to complain or whatever else in the comments on this article. Also, I am experimenting with yet another video format to try to get the online videos closer to the quality of what the camera produces. Once this version is fully uploaded I will add it to this post (assuming it works), so check back later and let me know what you think of it. Oddly enough the video that was converted at a different quality level and format looks exactly the same as the other so I guess it is back to the drawing board.
