Important Meeting on Monday, October 25th at 6:00 PM - Please Attend

Below please read a letter sent from a fellow Polk City resident regarding the first agenda item at Monday's meeting:

10/21/2010 10:54 PM

Dear Fellow Polk City Citizens and County Residents,

I would like to ask you to attend the special called council meeting on October 25, 2010 at 6:00pm. It is my belief the current Acting City Manager, Mayor and City council have decided to change the date and time of the council meetings to a date and time that would not be convenient for the citizens to attend.  The time and date I believe they would like is during the daytime hours Monday thru Friday.

Those who work during the daytime would be unable to attend.  I see no reason to change the date of the council meeting. However, as it pertains to the time council starts their meeting. This could be changed to a later start time.

It is my belief the reason they want to change the date and time is because (We the people of Polk City) have packed council chambers at all the meetings. We have put the council under pressure because we have disagreed with their decisions and have let them know how we feel. We have been able to effect a change in regards to some decisions made by city council. They are forced to face the people they so inadequately represent.

They do not like what we have been able to accomplish. And therefore are trying to change the date and time as to place an undue hardship on the citizens by changing the date and time to an inconvenient time. Therefore, the council chambers would be empty. They would be sitting behind the council bench looking out at empty seats, not having to face the citizens they so inadequately represent.  Therefore, this is a very important meeting and should be attended by all Polk City Citizens and County Residents.

Sincerely,
Mr. Robert W. Bersey
Polk City Resident --

In addition to the reasons Mr. Bersey sites in his letter, we also heard from Councilman Kimsey that the new City Attorney, Tom Cloud, has conflicts in his schedule with the present Tuesday night meeting time.  This should have been considered before he was hired, since the previous City Attorney also had a scheduling conflict with the Tuesday night meeting time and he did not get the option of rescheduling the meeting date and time.

Will the public be allowed input in the new meeting times?  Is the new meeting time going to be convenient for the new City Attorney with no consideration for when the public can attend?  Will it be too early for those individuals who have regular day jobs to get there in time to attend after work?  Will it be on Wednesday nights when many church goers have regular gatherings?  The difference in attendance on the special meeting nights when the start time is at 6:00 PM is significantly reduced than on those meeting nights when the start time is at 7:30 PM for the regular meeting.  Is this a new city strategy so the Council can make it appear that the city residents no longer have an opinion about what is going on?  Previously, the Council complained that the public was not getting involved.  Now that the public has, maybe they can't take the heat.  Council Blevin will be out of town for this meeting, so the vote at best will be among 4 Council Members.  Likely the vote will be 3 to 1.

Please email our Council Members and show up to Monday night's meeting to make sure that the public does not get shut out.  The email addresses of the Council Members can be found in this previous post: Meeting Request