IN PRAISE OF...

ABSTRACT: With regard to the Special City Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2009, recognition is given to members of the public who spoke in support of retaining the Flanders Mansion Property as a city-owned property in an intact Mission Trail Nature Preserve, a NOTE communicating the date of the continued Special City Council Meeting and COMMENTS are made about remarks made by City Attorney Don Freeman and Mayor Sue McCloud.

IN PRAISE OF...all members of the public who spoke at the Special City Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 in support of the preservation, protection, enhancement of parkland and open space, honoring the General Plan, Local Coastal Program and Mission Trail Nature Preserve Master Plan and retaining the Flanders Mansion Property in City ownership as a public park for present and future generations, as follows:

Francis (Skip) Lloyd
Darby Worth
Karen Ferlito
Roberta Miller
Melanie Billig (President Flanders Foundation)
Virdette Brumm
Yoko Whitaker (Flanders Foundation)
Barbara Brooks
Richard Stiles
Joyce Stevens
James Wright
James Emery (Carmel Residents Association)
Shirley Humann
John Hicks
Susan Brandt-Hawley (Attorney, Flanders Foundation)
Harvey Billig
Mike Brown
Barbara Stiles
Barbara Mearns (“Carmel is Special! Do not sell our Family Jewels!!!" Sign)
Barbara Livingston

NOTE:
After all of the public comments and upon the recommendation of City Attorney Don Freeman, the City Council continued the Special Meeting to Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 4:30 P.M. Written comments on new information not previously presented for the record will be accepted by the City until 5:00 P.M. Monday, May 4, 2009.

COMMENTS:
• When the Special City Council Meeting reconvened after a 45 minute break following nearly 90 minutes of public testimony, City Attorney Don Freeman communicated his recommendation to the City Council that the meeting be continued to Thursday, May 14, 2009, because of his concerns regarding information released by the City that day, apparently comprising over one hundred pages, and giving the public adequate time to review the information and the opportunity to submit new information in the form of written comments to the City for the purpose of compiling a record for the Sale of the Flanders Mansion Property. Question: If City Attorney Don Freeman is sincerely concerned about the City giving the public ample opportunity and time to review all of the materials relevant to the Sale of the Flanders Mansion Property Project, then why didn’t he intervene earlier for the purpose of seeing that the Forest and Beach Commission, Historic Resources Board, Planning Commission and City Council meetings were rescheduled to allow more time between public hearings than the nine days between April 20 and April 28, 2009?

• At the end of the meeting, Mayor Sue McCloud stated, as follows:
“Your council got this stuff at the same time it was available to the public and we stayed up burning the midnight oil to get it read and prepared for today, so there’s a little bit of sour grapes there, we just had some very good grapes actually...that, you know, we got the stuff and we were able to do it and there are several people here, like the majority of Council who work full time...”

The relevant issue is not the public having access to public information at the same time as City Council Members, rather the issue is respect for her constituents to the extent that ample time is given by the City to members of the public to read and review all materials produced by the City on the Sale of the Flanders Mansion Property. Furthermore, her remarks betray a disregard, even contempt, for the public and are unbecoming any public servant!

(Source: Archived Videos, Special City Council Meeting, April 28, 2009)