OPINION — On Tuesday, June 16, my daughter and I arrived at 5:15 to sign up for the call to the public, which must be submitted before meetings begin. We, and seven other speakers, sat through four hours of town business before the CTP came up as the next to the last item.
Then on three occasions – involving a person using a walker, a mom with children waiting for her at home and an elderly gentleman – the town clerk started the clock as soon as they stood up to approach the podium. When Councilwoman Kalivianakis called for a point of order to correct this, she was gaveled and reprimanded by the mayor who proclaimed that “no call was required,” of course he would give back the time.
Requiring residents to sign up before the start of meetings, making them sit through hours of discussions and presentations and then misusing the timer are all indicative of this council's complete disregard for residents and disinterest in hearing what they have to say. Meanwhile, Mr. Skillicorn goes on for over 10 minutes about his e-bike adventures and opinions and council members seemed ill-prepared for the items on their list, such as solar installations at the Community Center and e-bike regulations.
