The new Town Council met in their first regularly scheduled meeting last night. There was much discussion on various subjects, but not so much action. It was appropriate that this first meeting was more of an information sharing meeting as opposed to a major policy shift meeting, although one could sense sensitive issues were on the table and may well be changed in the future.
Here is what you won’t read in the paper. Glen Vickroy is back in the saddle. He presented numerous ideas and contributions throughout the meeting. In the past couple of years, Glen often came across as so mad at Judy, he could hardly speak. When he did, the gruff Glen came out and he would end up yelling and/or clamming up with a sullen expression. But, last night, he came across as the vigorous Glen with various points, some old, some new, that he contributed. This was a long meeting and somewhat tedious at times, and Glen remained positive, temperate and fresh. For example, Glen suggested the Town have a meeting where all the employees attend to meet the Board as well as looking at the the concept of hiring a town manager. Opening up dialogue with all the employees is a great idea, since only a few attend the meetings and this could be the start of team building.
This same kind of change in attitude and delivery was mirrored by Dennis P. at last week’s Plan Commission. As I mentioned in that blog, Dennis brought up the Village of West Clay as an example of a great development that deviates from the standard zoning laws, yet its overall unit is a great place to live and shop. What I failed to mention, was the manner in which Dennis presented this material. Again, without the influence of the negativity of JjNn sitting at the table, Dennis was so much more relaxed. He had actually worked on this development, therefore, he knew first hand what a great example it was of a PUD and was able to express himself without worrying about somebody jumping him or questioning his judgment or even the veracity of his comments. His humor and good natured and unhurried comments helped to calm concerns about a developer coming in and doing a slipshod job.
A good portion of last night’s Council meeting was discussion with Marshall Pearson. It was apparent that he wants to keep the dialogue open between the Board and himself as well as being sure the Board “buys in” to his program. Unlike the past, to paraphrase the old “chief’s” style of ”this is my department and I have this authority or if you take away the cars, you will have to give us more money…”, it seemed the new Marshall does not have any ego problems nor feels like he has to carry the biggest stick. They discussed items that had been brought up in the past, such as the heavy tinting on the cars, “stockpiling” tires by paying for them in advance, and putting a reserve program back together. Mr. Yackey presented a rudimentary ordinance to establish hiring authority, etc. and he will be discussing this in more detail with Mr. Pearson today.
One of Mr. Pearson’s strengths is communication. He was able to express the background on the tedious subjects of tinted windows, tires, etc. so that the audience as well as the Board could understand why things were done, the pros and cons, etc. Basically, the Board told him that he didn’t need their approval to determine whether to remove the tinting of the windows. I got the impression that he would probably have it removed as it is difficult for the officers to see out. He also mentioned that he had heard numerous complaints about the tinting from the public, since the depth of the tinting is not street legal. In fact, one of the citizens in the audience expressed that, as well. Probably a good PR move on his part, a very visible PR move, sybolizing the changing of the guard and his style of approachability and move toward open communications.
I have a little story to tell about Mr. Pearson and one of his acts that you won’t hear about in the paper. Now this is gossip, to some extent, but came from a very decent source. Apparently, there was a domestic disturbance that became very volatile between a girl and a couple of guys, presumably love interests. Mr. Pearson took care of it. Apparently, and after the fact, a parent of one of the parties went to thank Mr. P. for the manner in which he handled it, basically, because ALL THREE of the young, hormonally charged people could have been thrown in the slammer to cool off. Having an experienced and mature leader, one who has raised four kids of his own makes me feel a lot more comfortable with my kids driving around the streets of town. I used to worry Children of the Opposition might get picked on, or even set up for retribution. The way Don handled this situation gives us a little insight as to where he is coming from as well as an example of his negotiation skills.
