Norwich Meetings 19-23 November 2010

There's a march to and through the plaza in front of the Norwich City Hall this afternoon at 1:30, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and an extra voice to sing and bear witness is always welcome.

Meanwhile, here in the land of steady habits and neighbors working in the trenches of local government for little more of a reward than the belief that they are making a positive difference, it's a full week of meetings in a short week.

Tomorrow morning at 8:30, in their offices in the Norwich Business Park is a special meeting of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (normally held today, a holiday). Lots of us talk about the importance of learning to think regionally; SCCOG actually does it.

Tomorrow afternoon at five thirty, the Norwich Free Academy Board of Trustees meets in Room 6109 of the Latham Science Center on the NFA campus. A significant amount of the Norwich Board of Education's budget is devoted to paying the tuition of Norwich children attending NFA, so it's always good to monitor their budget plans and intentions, especially as the season of municipal budget formulation is nearly upon us.

Tomorrow night at seven are two different meetings. The first, in the Planning Department's basement conference room at 23 Union Street, is a regular meeting of the Commission on the City Plan. I'm not sure the other meeting is being held at all and that's more the rule than the exception. The city's website and a local newspaper list a regular meeting of the Downtown Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, but elsewhere on the city's website is a meeting agenda of this same agency from last Monday. And yet another reminder Public Law 08-3 is NOT a suggestion, it's a requirement. Do I anticipate revisiting this issue? Something about a chicken and lips..HEY, what's that bear doing here in the woods of Eastern Connecticut?

I'm wondering if maybe one of the topics that should be addressed in the Saturday City Council workshops is why communications between and among city agencies remain so awful (the appointments to this committee, and other volunteer panels, are in need of renewal. Perhaps a consideration of renewal should be a concerted effort to send and receive oral and written communications in a (more) timely manner) and how to improve the process.)

Then at 7:30 it's a regular meeting of the City Council, whose 'big ticket item' will be a decision on the long-mulled purchase of the Norwich Hospital property. (For those reading along at home, the entry about a 'second reading and action' substitutes a gerund for a verb and lacks an object.) The Saturday session of citizens, state officials and city council members was an excellent opportunity to make your voice heard, but so far, in terms of total turnout, it's been a small chorus.

Tomorrow night, speak up or shut up-simple as that. Sorry for the bluntness, not. Perhaps helping that process, though maybe not, might be if the Council page on the city's website actually had the email addresses of all the alderpersons and not just some (and in one instance, the email address of someone no longer on the Council embedded in someone else's name).

Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins--sorry-actually at nine o'clock in the community meeting room of the Dime Bank on Salem Turnpike is a regular meeting of the School Readiness Council of Children First Norwich. They seem to be wonderful people-their website is incredibly out of date, but I admire their good hearts. It might be easier to help them if I knew more about what they are working on, but perhaps this is for the best.

The Wednesday afternoon regular meeting of the Housing Authority has been cancelled though, as has been the case since the city's website began, there are no meeting minutes posted (ever)of any of their meetings, so for those of us on the outside looking in, the net difference is zero.

At five, meeting in Room 210 of City Hall, is the Historic District Commission (whose importance and involvement in any and all aspects of historic tourism, as a tool in the City Council's evolving economic development plan cannot be overstated).

Thursday at six, in their conference room at The Rink on New London Turnpike is a regular meeting of the Norwich Ice Arena Authority, whose meeting minutes, since last July, have all melted from the city's website.

And Saturday morning at eight is the next installment of the strategic goal setting (it's my note; I'll call it whatever I want) with Doug Relyea steering a discussion with the Mayor, City Manager, City Council and the 'Alphabet Soup' of development agencies (includes Rose City Renaissance, Norwich Community Development Corporation, Downtown Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, and the Redevelopment Agency) on where do we go from here and how do we get there (without involving that old stand-by, 'Search for the Guilty', as part of our all-too regular way of doing business in the Rose City).

You really should make it a point to attend at least one of these sessions rather than remain unhappy about what you see as the lack of progress and process here in the second decade of the 21st Century. Of course, it is a lot easier to be a horn than a light, but that decision is yours.

"There is a blood red circle on the cold dark ground and the rain is falling down.
The church door's thrown open, I can hear the organ's song; but the congregation's gone.
My city of ruins, my city of ruins."
-bill kenny