“The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Salient advice that several recent Presidents should have taken to heart.” – Kevin Berger’s commentary
Happy Constitution Day! Congress created Constitution Day in 2004 and chose September 17 as the day to celebrate it based on that being the last day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Check out this link for an article in the Imprimis titled “Reviving a Constitutional Congress” with Christopher Demuth, Sr.‘s take on where our nation has gotten off track with concern to the Constitution and what steps can be taking to put us back on the right path.
From the article’s first paragraph, “Our Constitution is often treated as a reliquary, worthy of reverence but no longer of much practical use. Yet the Constitution reflects, in many deep and subtle ways, the character of the people who established it and have lived and prospered under it for centuries. This is particularly true of its structural features of federalism and separated powers, which vindicate Americans’ democratic nature, our distrust of power, and our taste for open competition.”
Please take a moment today to remember the 39 brave men who signed that document in 1787. Their courage and commitment should be celebrated.
I attended the Culver Plan Commission with a client Tuesday night. I was a little surprised to be called out in front of my client regarding another project, but so these things go.
Some Background: Last month I appeared for the Secondary Plan Review for the PUD (Planned Unit Development) needed for construction of The Paddocks. The project is one of the signature pieces in Culver’s Stellar Strategic Investment Plan and had been before the Plan Commission multiple times. It passed with one dissenting vote. I wondered about that vote, but never questioned it. It was their right to vote against the project. If they had expressed their objections before the vote, I could have provided a rebuttal to their objections, but after the vote it was a moot point.
Tuesday, that commissioner chose to elaborate on their no vote. To paraphrase, their objection was that all ordinances should be treated equal and since the Town had adopted a Complete Streets ordinance, and The Paddocks had agreed to provide a trail connection through The Paddocks property, the developer should have been required to exhaust all options to continue the trail through the adjacent property. The Developer should also be held to a higher standard due to the Tax Abatement awarded to The Paddocks.
A few things bothered me about that, but again, it was water under the bridge so I did not attempt to address it at that meeting. This is my venue to vent though, so here are my thoughts:
As I have said many times in the past, I respect the volunteers that serve on public boards and commissions. They take more slings and arrows than ever gets balanced out with accolades. That doesn’t alleviate their responsibility to know all the facts. In this case, some of the commentary was counter to things previously negotiated with the Town Council and the Plan Commission’s own Technical Review Committee. Speaking from the table at the front of the room gives their voice additional weight. That needs to be used judiciously.
Obviously this commissioner’s take differs from mine. Fortunately for me, the project and the Town, his position wasn’t shared by the other commissioners.
At the April meeting of the Culver Redevelopment Commission, an audience member repeatedly referred to the Commission as the Town Council’s “Fat Cow”. I assume this was a bastardization of “Kill the Fatted Calf” from
the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). I found several references here similar to this: The allusion to the New Testament story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) in which the forgiving father ordered his best calf to be killed in order to provide a feast to celebrate the return of his wayward son. Fatted is an archaic form of the verb fat meaning ‘make or become fat’. Nowadays we use the forms fatten or fattened. – Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
Due to my Grandpa Murphy and my good friend Bobbie Ruhnow, I’m quite fond of idioms and colloquialisms which I use often… much to the chagrin of some of my nieces and nephews who look at me like I’m crazy. My grandfather often shortened/modified his use of colloquialisms too, so I got the “Fat Cow” reference, though I didn’t agree with the sentiment. The reference was used as a pejorative, implying that the Town Council was unreasonably taking advantage of the funds held by the Redevelopment Commission. I disagree with that assessment for several reasons:
Culver’s Town Council has given the Redevelopment Commission much more autonomy than is seen in most communities. They are allowed their own separate agenda and often push back on Council initiatives. Once again though, they serve at the pleasure of the Council, so Culver’s Council has chosen to accept that autonomy, rather than replacing them with more complacent individuals.
Also somewhat unique to Culver is the interaction allowed to the public. Within limits, the public is allowed to comment and question throughout the Town Council meeting rather than just at the designated “Citizen Input” on the agenda. This new tradition has translated down through the boards and commissions. This is not something often seen in other communities and is likely behind the increased public attendance at meetings and public involvement in Town projects. Citizens may not always agree with the Town’s direction nor always able to sway the direction of the Town, but they cannot say they were not heard.
So it’s fine for citizens to voice their displeasure with the direction of the Council or any of the boards or commissions. It’s part of our local government system. Though a better understanding of the process, the chain of command and how we got here on projects would allow them to make better arguments. An educated debate carries more weight than random heckling.
“The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Salient advice that several recent Presidents should have taken to heart.” – Kevin Berger’s commentary
Image of Martin Lomasney from Wikipedia
One of yesterday’s Sunday morning talking heads referenced a Martin Lomasney quote. It was interesting enough that it prompted me to look it up. Mr. Lomasney was what would now be called a political operative in Boston around the turn of the 20th century. He apparently once told a young follower, “Don’t write when you can talk; don’t talk when you can nod your head.” Sage advice! In the age of Hillary Clinton and Elliot Spitzer, “write” could have been updated to “email” and now in the era of President Trump, maybe “write” should be updated to “Tweet”…
Quote referenced through Wikipedia and Pioneer Institute