2013-10-14 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Walker stated that it had been written and submitted by a combination of staff members from various departments. Mayor Welsch asked Mr. Walker if the Plan Commission had also been involved. Mr. Walker stated that they had been. Ms. Carr stated that she was puzzled as to why the Plan Commission was writing the City’s resolutions. She then stated that she had submitted a long list of questions to Mr. Walker about line item vetoes, although Council has lost that since giving him budget transfer authority for classifications versus line item. So there will be nothing. She also reminded this Council that on the day we put a couple of hundreds of thousands of dollars into the budget, Mr. Walker came back with 1.6 million dollars for unfunded items in the CIP. Ms. Carr stated she did not get a chance to say, “Take those things out because it was a lot more than she wanted to spend,” so she was anticipating much of the same. Ms. Carr asked everyone to look at the flow chart provided to her by Mr. Walker, you’ll see “the plan approved by City Council via resolution”. And then you go to the next item, “the project is identified in the Sub-area Plan”. Who was that identified by? That was the staff. We don’t set the priorities. The next time we get to vote is when a contract for a grant comes to Council, or we need to sign on o have the streets painted or signs made. But most of those things may be under $25,000 and so council would not know. She did not want these automatic triggers. Ms. Carr said we should move back, take this apart the way Mayor Welsch did in 2005 and look at those things that are worthwhile. This was not saying that we do not have a plan, we have a good plan that could fit the city better. Ms. Carr stated that if she remembers correctly, Mayor Welsch submitted 58 resolutions. She was not saying that we should wait for the next Comprehensive Plan, but rather let us do this the right way. She could not believe that this Council would vote to turnover their Charter responsibilities and powers to the City Manager, and noted that the Council had already done this two or three times previously, and this plan was a vehicle for doing just that. Ms. Carr said for those people that are wagging their heads she has got to say that you do not know what you are talking about. She said she asked why City Hall was being closed form commission meetings to find out that somewhere in the budget Council approved some access and so City Hall was being closed to commission meetings. But who told her before she voted. And for those people like Ms. Glickert, who come here and say repeatedly you did not pass the trolley, so why is this going through? She stated to Ms. Glickert, it is for the same reason she is refusing to support this; because sometimes when you vote on something you do not know what kind of powers you are giving away. Ms. Carr stated that this was the one time she fully understood the process and so was saying we should have a Bike Plan, but it should be one that Council can endorse. She would like to take the time to meet in some study sessions to look at this, and if we needed to insert it into the Comprehensive Plan, but not give away our responsibilities and powers to make policy. Ms. Carr stated that she would like to make a motion. Mr. Kraft called for a Point of Order and advised Ms. Carr that there was a motion already on the table. Mayor Welsch agreed with Mr. Kraft and stated that she would like to let everyone speak to that motion. Mr. Kraft stated this plan has been discussed and gone over at multiple levels. There has been lots of input and questions, especially from the private subdivisions. Mr. Kraft stated that he talked with many of the trustees and they seem to be comfortable with the fact that if they don’t want it to go through their subdivision it just won’t go through their subdivision. It’s quite simple. He stated that when he hears these conspiracy theories about how Council has given away its power and the power of the people has somehow been usurped, he sometimes thinks he is in Washington, D. C. and he hears the minority telling him how Obama Care never really passed in the first place. 18