Returning from it’s August recess, the council’s first September meeting focused on a lot of housekeeping and housecleaning.
First, The Good Stuff
There was the appointment of IHHS high school student Jonathan Stammer as the newest junior fighter to join the ranks of Oakland’s bravest volunteers.
The council also recognized the achievements this summer of both baseball and softball team champions.
It was announced that Produce Pete is coming to the Oakland Farmer’s Market this Saturday, September 8th from 10am to 1pm.
There will also be two art shows scheduled for this fall. One at the library on September 23rd, and one in conjunction with the Farmer’s Market on October 6th.
The IHHS annual car show is also scheduled for September 30th at Copper Tree Mall.
Then The Meeting
There were numerous applications for raffles, ordinances to remove outdated trusts, the appointments of municipal representatives to county committees, proposed zoning changes, and discussion of grant proposals.
The most drama came from the open public session.
Crystal Lake Flooding
The first speakers to take the floor were those residents who get flooded by Crystal Lake in a heavy rain. They are at odds with other lake residents, represented by the RML lake association, who do not get flooded in a heavy rain.
Presently, there is a 40 year old court decision that gave responsibility for opening the flood gates to the borough, and the responsibility of closing the gates to RML.
In 1972, Oakland government was smaller, weather reports came from one source, and apparently everyone involved had an unspoken understanding of the process. 40 years later, nobody knows when to open the gates, who to talk to about opening the gates, or who should listen to whom.
Mayor Schwager instructed the Borough administrator to coordinate a meeting of all vested parties amongst residents, borough personnel, and emergency responders to hash out a set of directives as to who exactly will be opening the gates, and the specific mechanism which will decide the circumstances.
Public Events Committee
The other subject discussed at the open session of the meeting revolved around the Public Events committee, which may soon be renamed the Public Spectacle committee.
This committee has been in a state of flux since the mass resignation of most members last spring. Frank Monaco, who assumed the chair of Public Events after the resignations, was subsequently twice voted back on as chairperson, but announced at the meeting that he has since twice resigned from the committee.
While the new members are seeking to get the committee back on track, and have partnered with the Oakland Farmer’s Market to sponsor an Art-in-The-Park event this October, they have also been entangled in discussions over the town carnival.
The Public Events committee assumedly sponsored the town carnival every year for the last decade, but had to relinquish that control after the mass resignations left no one to do the work. The Sports Association of Oakland stepped in to coordinate the carnival with the understanding that all proceeds would go towards a walking path in Oakland.
The SAO’s success, raising 100% more profit than in previous years, raised questions about how Public Events administered the carnival in the past, and why the Sports Association was able to double the profits realized by the Public Events committee over the past decade.
The town council has yet to publicly discuss the reasons for this large differential in profit, or to explain what administrative oversight they had concerning the Public Events previous administration of the event.
Business Portion
The business portion of the council meeting was not itself too painful.
The purchase of the senior housing property on Route 202 is on track, several funding proposals are in the pipeline for recreation, road work maintenance, and an environmental inventory study – these would be provided for through grants, state and/or county funds.
The redefinition of certain ordinances relating to zoning and planning are also in the works and will be revisited in coming meetings. One deals with the installation of solar panels so that the volunteer fire department has a record of those homes/businesses when responding to an emergency, and another dealt with issues affecting Oakland’s business district.
The council dissolved two trust funds that are no longer supported by state law. One concerned public assistance, and the other was the wedding fund. Apparently, the mayor does a brisk business in performing wedding ceremonies with a donation previously going to the wedding trust – that money will now go to the library for a specified project.
The love/hate relationship the town council has with the Sports Association of Oakland was on display again with the announcement of a new recreation website – which replaced the old recreation website which was also sponsored by the SAO. The old website OaklandRec.com is now redirecting traffic to the new website, OaklandRec.org.
While the council had no interest in owning the old website, some council members expressed an interest in taking over the new website. In an aside, the mayor noted that the town itself needs a new website.
The recreation website led to discussion of OPRA responsibilities, and potentially opened up the can of worms that the Open Public Records Act always presents to small municipalities.
This subject of OPRA was discussed at length in the beginning of 2012 when it was disclosed that Oakland did not have basic administrative access to their own email system, and that the town council regularly did business using their personal email accounts to circumvent the shortcomings.
Technically, every Oakland board, commission, or committee is subject to OPRA, not just municipal employees and elected leaders. The matrix of applying these standards to every volunteer who serves on a board, commission, or committee is a staggering endeavor for any entity – much less one that cannot meet the standards for elected leaders.
First, I thank The Oakland Journal for providing this well-written snapshot of what went on at last night’s council meeting. You are providing a service that is appreciated by those of us who were unable to attend or view the meeting.
That “Stright Jacket” cartoon was a subtle hint to the condition of our town’s government, thanks to the uncooperative majority. We need 100% teamwork to solve the many problems our town faces. It’s time to remove that restraining “device.”
My mind was spinning with the convoluted logic of Frank Monaco. I found his self grandiose announcement that he’s leaving the public events committee, a complete boar. His weekly ramblings, which used to be entertaining, have become sad and pathetic. He changes his stories, changes his minds and makes things up as he goes along. He said the volunteers in this town have a devious intention, that’s a very hypocritical statement. Didn’t he say in the August meeting that he wasn’t going to listen to the voting decision of the public events committee, regardless of the outcome of their vote? Didn’t he say he wanted the group to become a 501(c)3 non-profit, and if the group chose not to go in that direction he would come back to the council and ask for them to override the democratic vote of the organization? ? This sounds like the leadership quality of Stalin and at the very least the thoughts of someone with devious intentions. I have never heard a person, who claims he is for the good of the many, use the word “I” as much as he does, in fact he uses the word “I” a little more than he uses the word “money”. Adding to Frank’s ridiculous statements was when he said “others in this town bankrupt every organization they become a part of”. Who is he talking about? What organization has become bankrupt? I think that statement is morally bankrupt. Maybe Frank should learn how to use the computer so he can Google his whimsical thoughts before he takes to the microphone and chatters his weekly nonsense. Since he has now quit the same organization twice, (talk about someone being a quitter) I only hope he stops his weekly ramblings at the council meetings. There are more important people to speak, such as those suffering from flooding, not his constant self loathing gibberish. I have decided, as well as I am encouraging my friends and neighbors to support the opposite candidates he supports. In fact I have a check made out to whoever these candidates may be.
I can’t imagine Frank Monaco running the carnival. He would have to read contracts, negotiate, and heaven forbid – use a computer. He would need to use spreadsheets, he would have to organize people and have the ability communicate and listen to other people. What went on 40 and 50 years ago is irrelevant today. We need someone who is aware of his surroundings and can handle the modern world with a level of competence. Who ever the mayor and council assign the carnival too, thank god it won’t be Frank Monaco!