My computer crashed on me around 3:15, so I took the rest of the half hour or so of notes by hand. These are the motions that were made after they went around the room and took their straw vote of sorts. The alders start getting a little testy at this point.
Yup, work blogging, cuz I have a work meeting tonight.
ATTEMPT AT A MOTION
Kerr was trying to make a motion.
Clear tells her there are still four more people to speak.
Kerr gets frustrated and says “forget it!” and doesn’t make her motion.
Schumacher says he wants to have budget information, he wants strong clarity on the budget implications of the proposals.
Solomon says Kerr took the words out of his mouth [see last blog post], he objects to them addressing the issues in clumps. Dealing with it one piece at a time is like writing a letter by committee. He recommends against it, it won’t move them forward. If we are not at the table with 201 State it won’t make sense. We need a council delegation of 2 – 4 people and 201 State. The Mayor and Michael May heard a lot more tonight about where we are. [Actually, I don’t think the Mayor did, he was gone most of the meeting and by this point went home.] We should tell them to come back with an alternative and here’s the reason. 1) if we do something . . . he gets interrupted, a bunch of alders tell him he is yelling and he’s too loud . . . others say it is ok, he’s just passionate. He apologizes and speaks more softly. He says if 201 is not supportive of a proposal, there is no reason to put work into it. We should take our time, there is no reason to work on something that won’t go anywhere. What comes back should be the last best proposal and we should vote up or down. Why waste their time doing anything else?
Maniaci says she doesn’t want to drag it out to the 14th. There’s more confusion and at some point she says “hey!” and it quiets down. Hopefully she is not the only one who will bring new ideas on the 14th. Her energy is thin, let’s push through this – we should get it done and over with. And, on the fundraising point, they need to get it done so they can send out their fundraising letter. She would suggest they meet later today if it weren’t 3:30, there is “no way in hell” that they will get their paperwork done. She is about to say something about doing it on the weekend and there are some side conversations to which she says I know you don’t like weekends, but she says if you guard your weekends like I do you probably have it open . . . to which the whole room starts muttering.
King says the only audible comment I got which was “newsflash, its December”
Maniaci says between our day jobs and meetings she doesn’t see how to do it without them stepping up. We can’t drag this out, we have been pushing hard for 2 months, we need to be cognizant of that.
AN ACTUAL MOTION
Rhodes-Conway mercifully tries to make a motion. Her motion is that the committee of the whole make a recommendation to the common council that:
1) The president (Clear) and pro tem (Cnare) and up to 2 volunteer alders, the city attorney and mayor’s office (if he chooses) meet with 201 State and MCAD to:
a) Identify objections to version 3 and how the objections might or might not be overcome
b) Identify objections to the 21 amendments or a condensed version of them and how they might or might not be overcome
c) reflect, based on the hours of discussion and input, on a 5th version for support from the Overture Parties and Common Council
Clear interrupts and asks her how many points she has. She says three.
Rhodes-Conway continues:
2) That the Pro Tem (Cnare) and Bidar-Sielafff facilitate a redraft of the 21 or now 22 amendments (apparently Clear just sent a new amendment), and get them into the 5 categories that Bidar-Sielaff suggested, they can eliminate the duplication and then we an have more clearly articulated options.
3) The Comptroller and Overture respond to concerns on budget projections on the various models, especially the third one. She wants the staff to be able to respond.
She says that the third point is least well articulated.
Kerr seconded before she even finished her 1st point, Clear counts that a second for the whole motion. Kerr doesn’t object to that.
Schumacher says that on 1 & 2 he has questions about bonding and capitol issues, but 3 is critical.
Rhodes-Conway suggest that 3 read: to prepare a response to budget concerns for all three models, particularly on three they need to focus on impact on fundraising.
Clear asks if there are any clarifying questions.
King is struggling with how this moves us forward, we have a response from them, he heard more consensus on a transitional plan, so he wants them to work that out.
Clear says that’s not different than the Rhhodes-Conway motion.
King says he wants a narrow focus, they don’t have to solve the whole thing by 12/14. We won’t have a better decision we will just have a more informed indecision.
Clear asks Rhodes-Conway to articulate how the two are different.
Rhodes-Conway appreciates the concern, says it is different, but she’s not sure it is that much different. She is getting different advice from Solomon, he want to look at not just the 3 proposals, King wants none but for them to work on a 5th. She is ok with either, she could change number 1 to say they meet and talk about a transitional model and bring back a proposal. That might be a more focused, better direction, but the discussion would be the same.
Clear suggests King volunteer to be a part of the team.
Other alders tell Clear to essentially back off and quit pressuring King, to let him think about it.
King withdraws his objection.
May says that 1 c. covers it.
Bidar-Sielaff says she will volunteer, if others don’t want it, but if they are sick of her, she won’t do it.
Kerr says they should just ask who would do it and have them raise their hands.
Clear ignores her.
Clear says there is no objection to her volunteering.
AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION
Bidar-Sielaff wants to add that they talk directly to the donors, we should request that.
Rhodes-Conway says they could add “donors” to #1 or at a #4.
City Attorney thinks they should add a number 4.
Clear asks if there is any objection to that, there is none.
Cnare ask who will do that?
Rhodes-Conway says the President, Pro Tem and up to 2 volunteers. She says it doesn’t have to be the same.
Clear asks if there is any objection to that being friendly, there is none.
SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT
Solomon says this is more complex than it needs to be, he has a substitute amendment that the council delegate 3 04 people to talk to a representative from the Mayor’s Office, 201 State, the donors . . . and then he just talks too fast and I don’t get it all. At first there is no second, then Cnare does.
Several alders are arguing this is the same thing.
Solomon doesn’t think it is.
Schumacher says it sounds the same.
Kerr says it sounds the same. Essentially we need the Alders, Mayor, MAD, 201 State and the donors to meet face to face. We have all this high level talk about cooperation, but the only way to do it is to talk to each other.
Clear points out Solomons motion does not address Rhodes-Conway points 2 and 3.
Schumacher says it is not the same, he does not support it. The Rhodes-Conway version is clearer and more focused. The first motion is succinct. And if we add the resident groups as Solomon suggests we are getting into the study that will take a year.
VOTING ON SUBSTITUTE AND MAIN MOTION
Clear calls for a vote on the Solomon substitute, if fails on a voice vote, Solomon might have been the only one to vote for it.
Clear calls for a vote on the Rhodes-Conway motion, it passes on a voice vote, with Sanborn and maybe on other voting no.
PROCEDURAL MOTIONS AND ADJOURN
Rhodes-Conway moves to come out of committee of the whole and reconvene as the council. That motion passes on a voice vote.
Palm moves to close the public hearing.
Clear says at this point usually the Mayor takes the chair back, but no one knows where he is, Clear says he’s probably home in bed. So he’ll stay in the chair.
[Note: in the past you take a roll call when you go into a committee of the whole and again when you go back to the regular meeting, I’m pretty sure that is a Robert’s Rule requirement, but they skipped that step]
Motion on Palm’s amendment passes.
Rhodes-Conway moves to accept the recommendation of the committee of the whole.
Sanborn votes no.
They then try to figure out what the next motion is. Clear says it is to recess the meeting so they don’t have to have public testimony, but to not list a time when.
Someone points out they have to introduce items from the floor before they do that.
Verveer has a ordinance about raising the fee for weights and measures and refers it to Board of Estimates.
Rhodes-Conway makes a motion to recess to a date to be determined by the call of the chair.
Motion passes, they recess at 3:42
