[RP TownTalk] is anyone else concerned?

Mon May 16 13:52:54 UTC 2016

Dwight,
Thank you for your comments.
Thank you for the moderation work you do! I certainly have been adding
to your work load.

I agree with you that not all voices are heard and one venue for
communications is not sufficient to reach all of the residents. Towntalk
is just a small path. I certainly understand that but sometimes towntalk
is a vocal and engaging vehicle.

As you know, attendance at town meetings is very low, including mine,
but some watch the televised sessions at least some of the time. Perhaps
that is the venue for more discussion.

The Town Website does offer a means of public announcement.

The Town Crier offers another avenue for public announcement and comment
but is somewhat slow and lacking in detail with regard to agenda content.

None of these seem to be a single sufficient path to engage the town at
large.

Thanks again for your comments.
- bob smith

On 5/16/16 9:43 AM, Dwight Holmes wrote:
> Bob -
> Since you asked directly, yes, I am concerned...  Concerned about what
> is happening with our town government.  (PLEASE NOTE: I am writing here
> only in my role as a town resident, not in any way in my role as
> TownTalk List Moderator).
> 
> I have thought since moving here 10 years ago, that we, for being such a
> small town, are fortunate to have the dedicated, talented, and astute
> people we do willing to spend their time and energy conducting the
> affairs of town government, and, yes, representing all the residents of
> the town.  I continue to feel that way.  The matters that have been
> aired on this list by the mayor and, mainly, one current and one now
> former council member are distressing to me, especially since I not only
> know each of them and have considered them friends but more importantly
> because I trusted them and felt fortunate to have them as town
> officials.  I never expected to witness the kind of conflict or hear the
> kind of accusations we are now hearing.  And so yes, that is a serious
> cause for concern.
> 
> For personal and professional reasons, I just haven't had much time to
> devote to trying to fully understand the issues being discussed. And I
> have not had or made for myself the time to engage with any of the
> officials in an attempt to try to clarify any of the seemingly
> contradictory accounts that have been posted here.  You have, Bob, and I
> commend you for that, and for openly sharing your questions and your
> findings here. Thank you.
> 
> As I read your post (below), Bob, it seems your question is asking
> directly about the Mayor's assertion that "We do not have a government
> run by an email list".  I have to say that on this point I would
> wholeheartedly agree with the Mayor.  Unfortunately, the participation
> on this list is not even remotely distributed across the town's six
> wards.  Nor does it even represent well the residents of Wards 1, 2 and
> 3, where most people posting to the list (as far as I know - I don't
> actually have a list of subscribers, and certainly don't have their
> addresses).  
> 
> I'm a numbers guy, so I couldn't help myself. Looking at the posts to
> TownTalk in the 15+ days of May so far, there are 97 posts. Of those 13
> are official announcements (town, county, AHTA), 25 are personal
> announcements (business events, yard sales, lost/found dog, am I the
> only one whose FiOS is down? etc), 3 are what I call 'rolodex' questions
> (need a good tree trimmer), 21 are about town/community (but not
> government), mainly this month the Ravenswood Rd/children's safety
> thread).  Finally there have been 35 posts about the town government
> affairs/issues. Those 35 posts have been posted by 4 officials (Mayor,
> CM representing Wards 1, 2 and 3) and 9 residents.
> 
> This is a much livelier-than-usual period as far as TownTalk traffic
> goes.  But it can hardly substitute for an official meeting.  Too many
> voices are not being heard here.
> 
> Dwight Holmes
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, May 16, 2016 at 8:39 AM, bob smith <sfmc68 at verizon.net
> <mailto:sfmc68 at verizon.net>> wrote:
> 
>     Bottom Line Up Front: I thought the Mayor and council were the duly
>     elected representatives of the constituency but I do not see the wording
>     below reflective of this public service.
> 
>     I saw this message for the first time yesterday. I am pasting in the
>     section of concern.
> 
>     I am concerned about the public's ability to comment on matters up for a
>     council vote at the time of consideration for a council vote before the
>     vote occurs.
> 
>     I am concerned by the Mayor's comments about the right of the people to
>     petition their elected representatives. I am concerned about the Mayor's
>     comment indicating that public comment via an email list is impacting
>     the role of the elected government in their role of representation.
> 
>     This is excerpted from the message available at this link:
> 
>      http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-April/019603.html
> 
>     "[RP TownTalk] Town management, finances and legislation
>     Vernon Archer varcher at gmail.com <http://gmail.com>
>     Thu Apr 28 09:49:30 UTC 2016
> 
>         Previous message: [RP TownTalk] 3-Year Tax Base Trend
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> 
>     Friends and neighbors,
> 
>     I write to address the email Council Member Ebbeler sent recently under
>     the title "Executive Order/Town's Financial Position."  I share the
>     belief that the issues discussed are important, but the facts that I and
>     the rest of the council know are very different.
> 
>     1. Let me start by stating that we have a town government that functions
>     as a deliberative body meeting at regular times in Town Hall. The
>     meetings are open to the public and provide opportunities for people to
>     comment and ask questions at every meeting.  We do not have a government
>     run by an email list."
> 
>     Sincerely,
>     Bob Smith
>     5001 Riverdale Road
>     Ward 3
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> 