While I’m aware there will be a public hearing and a vote to approve funding for the traffic signals at the August Concord City Council meeting, the hearing will be limited to just this project.
The fact that Mayor Jim Bouley and the council are voting to spend grant funds for a specific part of the , before allowing public comment on the full grant puts the cart way before the horse. This runs counter to the mayor’s promise to the community regarding not moving forward without public participation.
It reminds me of the story of the camel asking if he could just put his nose in the tent to warm up a little. By the end of the story the camel was in the tent and his owner was standing outside. By incrementally accepting this grant, the community will never have the input that was promised.
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The Concord City Council hasn’t even voted to accept the , yet a consent agenda item for the upcoming July 9, 2012, council meeting allows for the expending of public and grant funds for the design and replacement of the traffic signals at Main and Pleasant streets. Consent agenda items do not receive a public hearing. So unless a councilor asks to have the item pulled from the consent agenda and unless a majority of the councilors agree to set a public hearing, it really is a done deal.
So what happened to, nothing happens until we have a public hearing and everyone who wants to comment will be given an opportunity, Mr. Mayor? So what happened to the committee that was going to meet to come to a consensus on the ? You know, the committee the mayor is going to appoint before the public hearing and our input.
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Does this work include the design from the TIGER grant for the Rethinking Main Street project? You know the project that isn’t going to move forward until it’s publicly vetted.
If the city spends a portion of the grant on the traffic signalization (as described in the TIGER grant) are we obligated to move forward with the rest of the project? The project you and I haven’t had an opportunity to comment on.
What happens if we spend the money on the traffic lights and the committee comes up with an entirely different plan for the remainder of the Re-thinking Main Street project? Would the U.S. Department of Transportation hold the city in default? If I ask for money to build a bridge, but use it for a tunnel how happy are those providing the funding going to be?
Here’s a tough question. If the city is found in default who pays the U.S. DOT back? I warned you it would be difficult.
You bet I’m mad. What happened to the merchants concerns? What happened to the input of the citizens of our community who will be paying for a significant portion of this project? And what happened to the mayor’s promise?
