Be advised, perhaps because there's holiday, Veterans Day on Tuesday, but the City of Norwich website isn't especially accurate on this week's municipal meetings, imho. I, too subscribe to 'trust, then verify' philosophy so I tend to analyze the meetings announced on the municipal website through the filter of news and notes from other sources to develop this. I know, 'smells like a disclaimer' and it is for this first group at least:
Tuesday's meeting at 8:30 AM of the Youth & Family Service Advisory Board at Norwich Free Academy (and before you ask, municipal meetings must be accessible to the public, not necessarily held in municipal buildings. Sometimes that's more a nuisance than a nuance, but not in this instance). The City's website also says there's a meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals (sorry, no agenda posted), at 7 PM in the basement conference room of 23 Union Street. But as I mentioned, I couldn't find any third-party confirmation on them. Conversely, here's a meeting that shows up in the newspapers, but not on the city's website: Downtown Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Committee which meets at 6 PM at the Buckingham Memorial, 307 Main Street. That hyperlink takes you to a draft of the 16 October meeting minutes but nothing will offer you an idea of this meeting's agenda or committee membership.
There's a ton of goings-on all going on on Wednesday. I'll pause while you diagram that sentence.
Not sure about too much in connection with the S.E. CT Enterprise Region (Loan Committee) meeting at 8 AM in New London at 190 Governor Winthrop Boulevard, except it's part of the Southeastern CT Enterprise Region and there are some fine folks involved in this effort.
If you like rise and shine meetings but don't make the trek to New London, you might want to attend the Rehabilitation Review Committee which meets oh-bright-early at 8:45 in the basement Conference Room at 23 Union Street. If you go, ask someone who came up with a meeting start time on the quarter hour, vice at the half or top of the hour. Here's the minutes of their 16 October meeting.
The Southeastern CT Regional Resource Recovery Authority meets in Preston at their building Wednesday afternoon at 2; Norwich has two members on this regional body. The authority doesn't have a website (yes, there are some people not as fortunate even in this land of unfettered self-aggrandizement. They can't even afford an agenda or a posting of their previous meeting's minutes) but here's a place to start on the over one point two million mentions about them and others like them (let's hope Carly Simon doesn't get wind of this, okay?)
The Public Works & Capital Improvements Committee (one of the standing committees of the City Council, along with Public Safety and ---never mind what the third one used to be) meets at 5 PM in the Public Works Director's Office at 50 Clinton Ave. There's no agenda on the city's website but there is a note that meeting minutes are available at the City Clerk's office which is an amusing, but incorrect, interpretation of the public law mandating they be posted on a municipality's website. It's mooted by the fact that their October meeting was cancelled.
The Greenville Neighborhood Revitalization Committee meets at six at the New Asia Buffet, 680 Boswell Avenue. I'm trying to figure out why the name of the neighborhood school is spelled differently from the Revitalization Committee for the neighborhood it serves. Don't tell me the sub-prime crisis has affected the number of vowels in the alphabet and we're now rationing "E"s?!?"Batting left and playing for the home team..." it's the Baseball Stadium Authority, who meet in room 210 at 6 PM. There's no agenda posted, but when you review the October minutes you'll read the CT Defenders, between back rent and past utilities, may owe about 240,000 dollars to the city. I am assuming that's American money. If you attend, perhaps you can find out for the rest of us as I imagine that might still be a topic of interest. In fairness to all sides, there's a lot of mad math skills needed about who owes whom what, especially since I don't know if the team has been reimbursed for its public safety expenses, which normally reduces the rent. But I'm calling my landlady and broaching the topic, 'tolerance of arrears' just to see what happens. You might want to contact your mortgage company and we can compare notes later when we're living under a bridge trestle, or maybe in a vacant parking spot at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center.)
The Public Safety Committee meets at 7 PM, this time at the East Great Plain Fire Department . Their minutes aren't on the city's website but are always available at the meetings, as are the agenda. I've attended two of these in recent months, and the participation by all the activities within the city's public safety community is very encouraging. If I brought dog treats this time, maybe one of the fireman would let me pet the dalmatian, unless the dog, too, wants a development grant.
The Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 23 Union Street at seven PM and, just reviewing the minutes of their October meeting, you can develop an appreciation for their efforts.
On Thursday, the Mohegan Park Improvement & Development Advisory Committee meets in room 210 of City Hall 5:15 PM (did somebody get a deal on quarter hour meeting calendars?). I was unable to locate either an agenda or meeting minutes which is one of the many reasons why I'm always picked last for Marco Polo.
This isn't a meeting-but fun, admittedly more for my age than you probably. There's a benefit for the Norwich SemiSeptecentennial (say that three times fast; it's hard enough to type it one time real slow!) with Rick Derringer rocking the NFA Slater Museum, starting at 6 PM.
And one other item, but NOT for this week. Considering the brouhaha on some matters of zoning earlier last week (next door in the Chambers of City Council), I'll talk about it again NEXT Monday, but let me mention here and now, an informational session the Norwich City Council will conduct on zoning next Tuesday, the 18th, at 7:00 pm in Room 335, City Hall. Joseph Hazlewood, whose ears are still burning from Jon's impassioned importunings last week, called me to ask if he could moor in the Norwich Harbor near the 20 story hotel. I suggested he dock in New London and take a ferry or a train to get here.
That's the week to come. Lots to do and more to be. Better eat your Wheaties.
"It's a mess, it's a start. It's a flawed work of art. Your city, your call. Every crack, every wall. Pick a side, pick a fight. Get your epitaph right."
-bill kenny
6 comments:
I do like the "somepeoplewillclickonanything.duh" link. (I did click just to see if "Duh" was actually a domain.) Being a mentally deficient participant in the small d (and capital D too) democratic process I like your run down. I am concerned that if we make the process so difficult that the quality and quantity of the volunteers we get will suffer to the point that only masochists like myself will participate. Government should do everything it can to make it easier for these volunteers, for instance providing adequate clerical support for those oh so important minutes. Just a thought.
"Government should do everything it can to make it easier for these volunteers..."
You're absolutely right-some might argue at the moment, we have yet another 'unfunded mandate' and there's some merit to that argument, I suppose. However, having been the recording secretary on a number of different volunteer panels, I'll note it's not all that hard to accomplish the minutes in a timely manner, and as everybody's mom told them when they were little 'everything worthwhile requires an effort.' (mine told me that just last week as I am a alittle short for my age).
What I find daunting is how each of us develops a comfort zone and stays there. I've had people tell me they 'didn't know about meetings' that are posted and correctly noticed at City Hall and on the municipal website.
They are angry at 'them' who are the government for trying to put something over on them. Meanwhile we, the elected and the electorate ARE the government. Each of us has to do what we can to make our system better.
You can lead a horse to water,it seems, but sometimes you can't get him to buy the house a round.
Absolutely, cheap ass horse. I've seen it at all levels including my work with my union. It seems people don't want to be bothered anymore unless they're directly impacted. We've made it pretty easy for them to see when and where the meetings are. Norwichct.org is not a tough URL to figure out. With two income families and the need to still manage children and family activities, I understand first hand the problems involved. For me though it's worth the effort. I think the nature of the information age and public exposure and the potential ridicule that goes with it scares a lot of people off. After 20 years with corrections you have to enjoy some level of pain.
In Norwich, as a fellow resident, I know I am fortunate to have a neighbor like you--who not only can make a difference but IS the difference so often for so many.
One of the frustrating things for me, not just here, but across the country, is how often people are willing to let someone else do the heavy lifting, without even bothering to notice.
I go to enough municipal meetings to say I see 'the usual suspects' at most of them.
From Board of Education to and through Public Safety, it's the same corps of core involvement citizens.
Someone once told me about the 80/20 rule-I'm thinking in Norwich that might be a little skewed (we don't do well in math), but that doesn't mean I'm willing to give up (at least yet).
We need to accept the notion that government is NOT something done to us, but something we do for ourselves and one another.
With my apologies to good nuns of the Sisters of Charity who struggled (and failed) to teach me grammar "We" are "Them" and "They" are "Us".
We take back the city, one block, one meeting, one neighbor at a time.
My experience is more like a 5/95 rule and at the city level it's worst than that if you consider the number of citizens as a whole. I'd kill for 20/80, well maim at least.
I'd give us a better than 50/50 chance of getting at least 5/95 especially if it's marked down, and if we order right now, they'll throw in a second city at no extra cost! ;-) (shipping and handling extra)
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