After four tries, persistent trustees finally got their wish to tape all special meetings and broadcast them on local cable.
The motion was brought forth by Trustee Larry Rosso. The vote was 6-1. Supervisor Dave Wagner voted ‘no for economic reasons.?
‘At the time we took a vote on this back in August, I was away on vacation,? Rosso said. ‘As result, there was a deadlocked vote. I would have voted in favor of it at that time if I was here, but I wasn’t.?
Instead of bringing the issue back to the table right away, Rosso said he wanted to see how board members behaved at special meetings over the next few weeks.
‘I’m quite proud of the performance of this board and the focus and the decorum, and the exchanges have been done in a very civil and professional manner,? he said. ‘I think it’s better now that I’m bringing a motion to bear this time based upon a track record of success. Also, we benefit having these board meetings for obvious reasons, the transparency as we just talked about.?
He also noted meetings could be taped with a stand alone camera, or pay a volunteer for $10 an hour.
Wagner, who has consistently voted no on the issue, said he would be in favor of taping special meetings, along with Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Wagner also expressed concerns about juggling the hours of the part-timer at Clarkston Public Access Center (CPAC) between time at the station and taping special meetings.
He asked if the board would consider waiting until the township worked out its Comcast PEG fee dispute.
‘When you talk about transparency for those who have served on planning and zoning, there are major decisions that are made at that level that no one in the public has a clue about,? Wagner said. ‘If we’re going to broadcast, I would be in favor of broadcasting everything. I would ask the board to possibly have some patience and wait.?
Trustee Neil Wallace said he didn’t want to ‘dismiss the good because it was not perfect.? He also stated the meetings that weren’t broadcast were a “tremendous missed opportunity.”
‘It’s really unfortunate the people of this community couldn’t see us, good and bad, wrestling with their money and trying to figure out how to do things better,? he said. ‘I’m proud of what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished. It’s been a lot of hard work, I don’t know if we actually missed a Tuesday night meeting since June.?
Wallace suggested looking at the planning commission and ZBA as a separate proposal in the future.
Rosso agreed.
‘Zoning and planning, I don’t have problem with,? Rosso said. ‘We’re in the most critical phase in my tenure here at the township, dealing with our financial budget crisis as we have. I want the public to get a firsthand look at this.?
Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen said her reasoning for wanting meetings taped were ‘completely selfish.?
‘I haven’t taken shorthand since 1972,? she said. ‘It’s been awhile, so it would help me in that respect.?
Trustee Mark Petterson was also in favor of taping both ZBA and planning commission meetings and agreed the board is at a critical time in their budget process, but he was also worried about personnel issues.
‘During these budget discussions, the possibility of eliminating departments (and) personnel comes up. I think one of my greatest concerns is our employees find out they’ve been terminated or let go on TV before a department head has a chance to pull them into a side room and let them know what’s going on,? Petterson said. ‘I hope we think of the consequences on our employees when make our discussions.?
Trustee David Lohmeier said ‘the benefits far outweigh the danger.?
‘Transparency is not easy, it’s kind of painful and you don’t get to keep things secret,? Lohmeier said. ‘I do regret we haven’t been able to get the previous meetings out. I think they were incredibly valuable because it shows the pain and the diligence everyone is going through in making some of these decisions.?