2014-06-16 Special - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Rava stated that he also wanted to address Mayor Welsch’s comments made in the Broadside which state that the losers of the election were sore losers and that they should mind the vote of the people and keep quiet. He stated that in his opinion, sore winners should be more deplored than sore losers. Mr. Rava stated that there was a very small percentage rate of voters in this election, so the winners are speaking on behalf of a very limited number of voters. The winners of each race should have a greater appreciation and respect for the vast majority of the citizens who did not vote. Elsie Glickert, 6712 Etzel, University City, MO Ms. Glickert stated that she was here tonight to address Council’s Rules of Order that were adopted November 26, 2011. She stated that she would like to make the following suggestions which she hoped would be considered the next time these rules are amended. Minutes: No minutes can possibly include every verbatim statement made by Councilmembers. They should be an accurate synopsis of what was said by every Councilmember. Minutes are the City’s current history that reflects the dynamics of the day. So please do not copy the style of the School District’s minutes which say very little and are an embarrassment to the community. Citizen’s Comments: Please do not eliminate citizen’s comments at the beginning of the meeting. University City citizens own this City and Councilmembers are our stewards. Rule 14: “An Ordinance or Resolution will be placed on the agenda at the request of two Councilmembers”. Each Councilmember has a right to place an item on the agenda; that is why they were elected. If that item is voted down that subject should not be permitted to reappear on a future agenda for a period of ten months and no other Councilmember should be permitted to submit this subject, in any form, for that same ten month period. Civil Service Commission: All appointed board members should be attorneys. Acme Price, 8236 Balson, University City, MO Mr. Price stated he has an interest in what Council does and why they do it. He said if all of us were here because of the questions that have been raised, then Council should be congratulated because it weighed the value of its time enough to ask can we do anything better. Your response is looking at you, and you’ve got work to do. If the citizens who are in this room are asking you to give them a little bit more consideration, then maybe that means you’ve got to figure out a way to give them just a little bit more of your time. Mr. Price suggested that each ward hold its own public relations meeting every other month and then the two ward representatives can report back to Council as a whole. To me that just makes common sense. Robert Davoli, 7378 Milan Avenue, University City, MO rd Mr. Davoli stated he was a former candidate for Council. He stated that he has never seen a 3 rd Ward Councilmember in his neighborhood, but he learned a lot as he walked the entire 3 Ward while he was campaigning. So it is a shame that Council now wants to cut the communication from its residents out of their agenda. How do you learn without listening to your constituents? Beth Martin, 410 Melville, University City, MO Ms. Martin stated that over the last few months she has become more engaged because she was curious about some of the things she had been hearing and as a result, had met with the Mayor, City st Manager and her two 1 Ward Councilmembers, Mr. Kraft and Mr. Crow. She stated that each conversation was civil and respectful, even when they disagreed on the points they were discussing. Ms. Martin stated that she particularly appreciated all of the conversations she had with Mr. Kraft, because although she had voted for his opponent, he had won and was in the position to encourage positive change. She stated that after the last Council meeting she walked over to discuss the resolutions with Mr. Jennings, the Mayor and the City Manager. The Mayor stated that she felt that the resolutions were political. Ms. Martin stated that she informed the Mayor that she did not necessarily agree, and provided the example of the resolution regarding Mr. Kraft’s behavior. She stated that at that point Mr. Kraft grabbed his empty water bottle from the dais and threw it into the empty seats repeatedly saying “Fine Beth, fine. You have convinced me, I will vote to censure myself”. Ms. Martin stated that she was shocked at the inappropriateness of the action. She stated 5