Tonight the City Council begins its new committee meeting format -- Committee of the Whole -- and will be discussing Public Works and Public Safety issues.
The meetings begin at 7:00 pm at the Public Works Service Center on Busse Hwy.
Mayor Howard will chair the meetings and the former chairmen of the council committees have been given the ceremonial task of introducing items that fall under what used to be their council committees.
You see PRU readers, Mayor Howard began his march to the top of the dictator's mountain by first pushing his own referendum to cut the number of aldermen in half. He then saw to it that he populated the council with hand-crafted rubber stamps that would do his bidding. Mayor Howard then had his rubber stamps push to move to a committee of the whole format, because it wasn't enough for Mayor Howard to chair regular city council meetings; to get an even tighter grip on the reins of power, he will now run meetings where traditionally committee topics were hashed out between aldermen and citizens.
Anyone want to guess what power play Mayor Howard has up his sleeve next? We will give you a clue -- what bodies within the structure of our local government still maintain some measure of independent authority from Mayor Howard and his council lapdogs?
After Mayor Howard manages to get his council lapdogs to neuter the authority of the remaining portions of city government, we can only guess that it will be a short time later when we begin to hear rumblings from the "24/7" Mayor about how we should consider making the job a full-time, salaried position. Because if there's anything the City of Park Ridge needs, it's another 4 years of this "24/7" Mayor.
Think about it people -- you're going to pay for Mayor Howard, one way or another.
January 12, 2009
Moooooving Forward!
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36 comments:
Is the public works conference room larger than City Hall? I have never been there.
No -- capacity is about 80 people.
If capacity is only about 80 people. Do they have speakers to broadcast to the others standing in the overflow area?
It's not set up like city hall.
Then, if it is not set up like City Hall? Why are they moving it to public works? Another attempt to limit the participation of the community?
Jean --
Everything Mayor Howard and his lapdogs do is an attempt to limit participation.
However, the party line about why the meetings have been moved to the PWSC is that the setting is less formal.
That's great, because the one thing that always discouraged me from going to City Counicl meetings or speaking at them was the formality. So if moving it to the PW building is to make it less formal, will the aldermen be sprinkled among us in the audience so we can rub elbows with them, share whispered comments, nudge them when somebody says something stupid, or share a Junior Mint with them? Because that's teh kind of informality I'm looking for.
Less formal than the individual committee meetings or less formal than city council meetings?
As we understand it, less formal than council meetings held in the council chamber at City Hall.
I was being sarcastic, but thanks for the reply just the same.
I beleive individual committee meetings in say the mayors conference room or the finance room are certainly far less formal than even the PW building.
Anybody got a camera to take movies tonight? It is perfectly legal to film and record the meetings, and this is a show that the rest of Park Ridge should really see.
Anon 11:01
The Junior Mints was a nice touch.
MWIP
PRU....
Are you saying that our Mayor may have his eye on say...the Park District?
Just wondering.
Anon@11:52 --
No. Mayor Howard doesn't need to have an eye on the Park District -- that's what Dick Barton is there for.
Yes...but Barton's term is up in a few months...then Mayor Frimark won't have his in there.
I was in a meeting with the retired (and idicted) Mayor of Niles when he was telling me that early on in his mayoral career he tried to bring the Niles Park District under the contol of the City through referendum.
He lamented that it never passed.
So there is precedent for power hungry Mayors making a run at other taxing bodies like the Park District.
Anon@12:03 --
Correct, and Milissis will probably pick up where Barton leaves off -- while waiting to see if DiPietro retires.
PRU @ 11:55:
And if Barton drops the ball, Park District commissioner (and one of Frimark's favorite new city committee appointees) Nick Milissis will make sure his mentor, Mayor Howard, doesn't miss a trick at the Park District.
This is starting to look more incestuous than a family reunion in the Ozarks.
don't bring your camera there. legal or not, Howie the control freak will confiscate it and make up a new law "on the fly."
Less formal, huh....I think I shall wear my pj's, bring a pillow & blanket and popcorn and soda. Reminds me of going to the Twin DriveIn as a kid. What entertainment! Can I pull the old 2 toned station wagon in? You know, the one with the luggage rack on top.
Will we see anyone from the nearly-out-of-business Park Ridge Herald Advocate? THEY should be able to bring a camera and/or record the proceeding, eh? Or has Howierd the great also confiscated all of the reporters too?
At the last Public Works meeting I attended the mayor was sitting behind me chomping on pretzels and chugging pop. We're not allowed to clap, laugh, boo, hiss, etc. at meetings, but eating must be ok.
As all of our PRU readers should know, we find Mayor Howard to be the ultimate asshat.
However, there are reasons Mayor Howard may be eating during meetings. We intend to ignore his doing so, we ask that you do the same, and we will leave it at that.
Looks like things should be very interesting at the Public Works garage this evening...with a winter advisory starting now...and a blizzard warning set for midnight...I'm sure the employees at the Public Works won't mind working around their visitors while they try to deal with the weather...
Such "togetherness"! Such fun!
They can't get ready. They have to be at the COW meeting to get approval for a VERY belated salt purchase.
Where do we park at the public works building, in the area where they keep the trucks and mulch??
Anon@3:37 --
No. You park on the street.
Extraordinarily inconvenient. Especially on a night when dozens of people are expected to show.
that's the idea!
All you people going to the PW fortress for tonight's COW - are y'all sure it's safe to breathe in there, especially with the likelihood of plows and trucks idling in the garage before going out on their appointed rounds.
If Frimark shows up wearing one of those industrial ventilator masks, you might want to reconsider just how much tonight's meeting means to you.
Anon@6:02 --
That is exactly what the Crew was just discussing.
I hate to be a wet blanket on the COW pie parade, but can anybody give an update on Flophouse Frimark and his PRMA pals?
Anon@6:13 --
All systems appear to be go for Howeird Flophouse Frimark and his minstrels of ministerial mischief!
We can alliterate with the best of them!
i've been told that in his weekly "fr. carl's corner" propaganda piece in yesterday's st. paul bulletin, fr. morello calls the new sunday supper plan a "ministry" that will end by 7:30 p.m. and that "no overnight shelter will be provided."
personally, I think padre carl is full of shinola, as he has proved time and again throughout this entire pads fiasco. but I'm willing to wait and see if he (and his prma co-conspirators) are true to his word, and the sunday evening dinners remain just that.
but if that doesn't work, let frimark give the homeless some flop room at the public works building, especially on nights when there's a cow meeting.
I wonder if the next mayoral power grab at which PRU hints is connected to Alderman Bach's recent attempt to have all cases heard by the appearance commission, zoning board of appeals and plan commission go to the city council for final consideration - even cases that have been denied by the appointed, neutral hearing body. This strips the hearing bodies of their power, sets up the council to grant relief - and curry political favor.
Circus...jerk us.......
What a difference a mtg makes.
Anonymous January 12, 2009 9:06 PM
Interesting question. The mayor appoints those boards and commissions members, and the aldercritters approve those appointments, so by definition those members are already handpicked. But I guess even handpicked lackeys can lose their way from time to time, so there has to be some way for the Frimarkians to reel them back in.
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