I am too much of a perfectionist. If I don't have the time to do it right, I probably won't do it. That's probably why I have stayed away from this blog. It's enough to have to read about these stories over and over again, but having to write about them can be overwhelming.
So, I'm going to hit on four of the "hot button" topics going on right now.
The Open Meeting of the Voters
"The town council may call meetings of the voters of the town. Upon the request in writing of three hundred voters setting forth the purpose (the specific purposes) thereof, the town council shall call a meeting of the voters. The president of the town council or other designee of the town council, shall preside and regulate the proceedings of such meetings. The president of the council shall cause the attendance of town officials and employees necessary to respond to the issues and concerns raised by petitioners." - Barnstable Town Charter
Nowhere in that paragraph of the town charter, the ONLY one mentioning the Open Meeting of the Voters, does it mention a "Moderator" position. Yet, the petition circulated by COGers, said "By signing this petition you will 1) Elect John Julius as the Moderator for the Petitioners".
What EXACTLY is a "Moderator for the Petitioners"? Who gave the writers of the petition the right to circumvent Massachusetts Election Law and deny me my right to vote or run for this position? Did anyone else run?
The fact is that no one knows what the position is. A petition does NOT have the legal authority to ELECT anyone to a position. This petition can not possibly be legal.
The Charter is clear that the Town Council "calls" the meeting - which means that they get to set the date. The Charter is also clear that the Town Council President runs the meeting - Sorry COGers, but Janet will be leading your meeting, how ironic.
Another Lawsuit / Greg Milne's Eligibility
What I want to know is which COGer is a lawyer? Because they just LOVE suing the town for no reason. Enough with the silly lawsuits and the ACLU and the Attorney General's Office. When they haven't gotten back to you in 8 months, they're not going to get back to you. Please stop wasting time & money with frivolous lawsuits.
Can't we get over the Milne Charter Commissioner thing? It seems pretty clear that the charter says a person cannot hold more than one elected office. Greg tried for two on the same ballot. He only gets one.
For the people complaining about the late Town Attorney Smith's "Home Rule", there is similar legal precedent. Federal environmental regulations are set by the EPA. However, the states have the right to set their own standards, as long as, their regulations are MORE strict than the federal ones. The same idea applies here. The state said they would not regulate the number of elected positions a person could hold. Our town came in and wrote into our charter (which was approved by the State Legislature) a stricter regulation on holding elected offices. They have merely strengthened State law.
Shellfishers vs. Landowners
Fishermen and shellfishers hold an iconic place in Cape Cod history and Cape Codder hearts. I want to see them succeed. I am tired of government regulations hurting these industries. That's EXACTLY why we shouldn't create another overreaching government regulation banning construction. The government can tell me whether or not I can build on MY land, how high I can build it, and whether I should build it again because they don't think it met their "building code". Enough with government intrusion into peoples' lives. It should stop now. NO to the proposed dock ban.
New Building
This leads me to my final point. Why is it that Circuit City has to jump through more hoops than a circus animal to get their building approved when a mega-Nursing Home gets approved without much of a fight? Why had no one heard about this huge home before it was approved? Enough with the town building cap and two acre zoning and all these crazy building regulations. They have driven property "values" through the roof, raising the residential property tax burden, misrepresenting our fiscal status to the State Legislature and leaving homeowners with "$600,000" homes that are barely worth half that on the market.
Final Beef
Actually, I need to correct myself. I have one more issue. Lately, I have been noticing more issues with street flooding when we get any decent amount of rainfall. Has anyone else been having or seeing the same issue?
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3 comments:
Your comments on the totally flawed petition language are right on the mark. Thankfully some of us can read and understand the charter.
Hi "Dedicated". It's nice to see someone with common sense writing about Barnstable. I am "NDM" over on the COG site. Lately, they have resorted to having people post items in my name (or very similar names) so that they can attack me.
I have been a semi-regular commenter to that site, as well as a frequent viewer of all other Barnstable-related blogs.
On Thursday night, I tried three different times to post a response to false comment claimed to have come from me. This comment was placed in a post about Peter Doiron. Three times my comment defending myself was deleted and removed. I have placed it below so that people can know the truth. Gary Lopez no longer has a free & open forum, and is now freely deleting posts that disagree with his point of view.
"This is the REAL NDM. I did not log in earlier as "MDM". Don't know who the person is.
I have no problem with Eric linking to the YOUTUBE video - it is a public video once it gets posted there. This is a TRIBUTE video – the whole purpose of making it is the largest amount of people possible to view it. AND Eric gave this site credit before giving a link to the video – he didn’t even embed it – you have to LEAVE his site and come HERE to see it. There is no issue here.
Peter Doiron and I didn't always agree, but I always respected his point of view and thoroughly enjoyed his Council commentary prose. My prayers and wishes are with his family and friends.
On the other hand… JJ, I am VERY disappointed in you. We don't agree that often, but I NEVER take cheap shots like that "MDM" took. I NEVER curse. I would never use an event like this to take cheap shots against you, Gary, Eric, or anyone else. I also know how to spell my own screenname. It's disappointing that you will use the smallest little thing to attack me and take unwarranted cheap shots at me. I've been around for quite a while. You should give me SOME benefit of the doubt."
I have noticed the huge puddling and flooding as well. Many of the storm drains around my part of town are covered over with leaves, street debris and empty nip bottles. I try to kick the stuff aside while I out walking my dog and picking up trash. It is a never ending job-glad that the dog needs frequent walking.
As for Greg Milne...I haven't seen him doing to much for Precinct 13.
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