Democracy wins big 2!

Frank Hogg

Town Board Special Meeting re changing the ZBA from 7 to 5.

Dear Mr. PrebleNY.com, Democracy WINS in Preble when the Town Board votes the will of the people in Preble.  The Town Board has yet to render a decision therefore Democracy in Preble is still on hold.  Is the Town Board a representation for the "good of the people, the many" or is the Preble Town Board for the "good of the town board members, the few?" Joe Oliver Member of the Preble Citizen Watch group

 

Thanks Joe.

It is clear from comments from board members that they are in 'back pedal' mode. They are trying to dispel the claim, made by me, and others, that this is about Barb and Carl. It is lame to say the least. The question I have is why are they doing this, it's stupid. Let's look at the possibilities.

1. Kick Barb and Carl off the board and reduce it from 7 to 5.

This will be looked at by everybody for what it is… a blatant attempt to control the ZBA especially after the overwhelming defeat they suffered at the public hearing. This would be really stupid if they did this.

2. Leave the board at 7 and replace Barb and/or Carl with others.

                  This would be blatant and it would be super stupid for the people who got talked into replacing Barb and/or Carl. Why? Because everyone would know what was going on and they would become targets for scrutiny beyond belief. Would anyone in Preble be dumb enough to be put in that position? Every vote or comment would be looked at. They would make themselves a target. After the meeting showed there was no support for this I would bet anyone with half a brain would tell the board 'no thanks!'

3. Leave the board at 7 and reappoint Barb and Carl.

                  This would be the smart thing to do. I would be pleasantly surprised if they did it. It would involve eating a lot of crow and I don't think they like doing that, who does? However when you are wrong the best thing to do is admit it and move on. Let's hope the board does the right thing.

When I was looking at this I couldn't come up with an advantage for the town board for doing this. It seemed from the letters sent to Carl and Barb, that they liked Carl a lot more than they liked Barb. Barb is a strong willed person, just ask her husband Dale. Carl is rather soft spoken but equally strong minded. I have a gut feeling that they might have wanted Barb off the board and were willing to lose Carl if it would work. Now they seem to be stuck. They might think that can achieve their ends if they put Carl back on and replace Barb saying they are meeting us half way. Nope-sorry town board, that won't work. The only course of action you have is to keep it at 7 and put both Carl and Barb back on. Otherwise…

The day after the meeting I got a call from a reliable source that said they saw John Steger, Ann Brennen, Cindy Trabinski, Betty Ann Pitman and Kate Edinger leaving the Preble Hotel about 12:40 AM. Hmmm, there is a law, called the 'Open Meeting Law' that might apply here. I suppose they could say they didn't discuss town business or what happened at the special meeting they just left. I suppose they could say just about anything but I bet I know what you are thinking they talked about... Interesting.

That's it for now.

My next planned update will be late Thursday night the 26^th.

Frank Hogg

10/25/2000