I met a man named Vick; far away from where I live now. We got to talking and discovered we had attended the same high school at different times. We became friends; he was a neighbor. He owned the Grand Hotel; the only thing grand about the Grand Hotel is the sign which sits just above the door and occupies the entire front of the modest one and a half story house. The hotel had two rooms upstairs; bathroom downstairs. The rest of the house filled with an amazing array of items. I bought a clarinet from him; I still have it.
Vick was an elected member of the town council. I asked him to bring up an idea of mine at the Council meeting. He said ‘You should come to our next meeting and present your idea to the Council’. I asked: why don’t you just bring my concern to the Council meeting? He said: Because that kind of arraignment can lead to abuse of power and corruption.
How so, I inquired? Vick said, here is an example. Suppose a constituent approaches me and asks me to get something done for him; but, he doesn’t want the public to know about his plan because it is only beneficial to him and a few of his neighbors; so, he does not want his proposal to be made a part of the public record. If I, as a Council person, agree to take on this project, as my own, hiding his identity, aiding his greedy intentions, well, usually there is a quid pro quo ie: a bribe. Vick concluded his remarks with: Good governance is all about making the process transparent. The absence of transparency is the red flag for abuse of power. If you have business with the City; bring it up at the council meeting. Keep it on the public record.
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Mayor’s Vanity Project ‘Trumps’ the Code, I wrote this years ago regarding the Art Fence. It is an example of abuse of power where the Council blocked transparency. You can read the full article here: https://www.pinelakevoice.org/post/mayor-s-ego-arts-project-irks-pine-lake-residents
I requested the minutes of all council meetings in which the ‘fence’ is mentioned by the Council. There were five council meetings between, September 2016 and March 2017, where the fence is reported on by Council Brandy Hall. There is no description of the fence recorded in the ‘minutes’. The ‘minutes’ did not provide enough information for the public to determine what the City’s Municipal Arts Panel was actually planning to build.
I obtained a copy of the Fence Permit Application which was approved on the same day it was received. The information on the form is sparse. At the bottom of the application it reads: applicant/administrator with two signatories: Council Brandy Hall & Clerk Valerie Caldwell. The City’s Code enforcement officer, Chief Green, did not sign the permit. Clearly stated on the permit is the fence height limit: 48 inches.
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Now here’s the thing. It would have been simple. Apply for a Variance. The Council and Mayor decided no, let’s just break the code. A variance hearing would have allowed transparency. Like Vick said: The absence of transparency is the red flag for abuse of power. There have been quite a few instances of lack of transparency.
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