Posts Tagged “Tim Pape”

Having seen the intergovernmental task force on co-location today I much prefer sausage making.

At least with sausage making you can drink a nice German beer, say a Kostritzer from Gera, to dull the pain. There was no such option today. The meeting was comical at times, disappointing most of the time, disrespectful, inarticulate, confused, and oh yes, a mess.

The highly respected John Stafford chairs the task force and even as capable and articulate as he is the meeting got away from him quickly. The seating chart should have been a giveaway. One the left (literally, not figuratively) were Councilmen Tom Smith, Tim Pape and Mitch Harper. On the right (literally and figuratively) were County Council members Roy Buskirk, Paula Hughes and Paul Moss. In the middle (to their misfortune) were commissioners Linda Bloom and Nelson Peters, moderator Stafford and placed uncomfortably near Councilman Moss our fuming Mayor Tom Henry. (Bill Brown fortuitously had scheduled something else moons ago so he was spared the confusion and confrontation and pettiness.)

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By Jim Sack

Last night’s council meeting was so boring that a council member resorted to text messages to keep reporters awake.

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By Jim Sack

It was like watching a fine fencing match. First Smith and Brown meet, then Pape and Harper squared off.

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By Jim Sack

It was a fresh start last night, all smiles, laughter, joking. City council had not been in session for three weeks and members greeted each other as old friends, almost like a class reunion.

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By Jim Sack

The Skybridge and the Embassy. I am still not happy with the arrangement the city has with the new downtown hotel people concerning our access to the sky bridge. “Due to security concerns” the hotel will only make it accessible to we unwashed masses on those rare occasions when the Embassy is hosting an event. Since we paid for the damn bridge we should be able to use it during some sort of regular hours, say 6am to 10pm. Park in the garage near the Marriott and walk from there to the Grand Wayne Parking Garage. Why not? You paid for it and during heavy rain or snowfall it could be a life-saver.

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It was almost a jolly city council meeting last night. Even as the troopers were just beginning to trooped in you could see mostly smiles and friendly gestures. Tom Didier, always a happy guy, was the norm rather than the exception last night; the atmosphere during most of the rest of the year as was exemplified during the budget hearings when low grade snarls emanated from around the table. The meeting last night proceeded that way from front to back, only a couple of times did it seem that Liz Brown might go after someone at the table. (To be clear, Harper and Shoaff hardly ever are draw in to the snarling; Shoaff is a very gentile and collegial council member, Harper is highly conscious of the need for polite decorum and fully observes it.)

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It was quite a show at council last night as some 65 residents of the near east side, neighbors to the recycling transfer site, vented their anger. And, they were angry.

The roar started almost as soon as Council President Tom Smith opened the mic last night to citizen comment. One after another minister and a few private citizens parade to the mic to chastise council members for approving the placement of a transfer site in their neighborhood, on the site of the old Pontiac Street Fruehauf/Fort Wayne Foundry campus. Only problem was that council had not approved it. That, however didn’t seem to matter. Nor did civility.

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Usually the questioning on city council is blunt. Straight forward questions are asked and usually, meandering answers are given by city officials. There was an example of just the opposite last Tuesday.

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Well, that is what Mitch Harper said last night at city council. “Government is the problem.” Government, however, is not the problem, instead it is those who either do not know the rules or who do not bother to play by them. Ignoramuses or cheaters. Mitch was ticked when he condemned all government. He was angry, so he was abrupt, perhaps a bit too abrupt. I think what he meant to say was that certain members of city council simply have no idea of Robert’s Rules of Order and, consequently, cause meetings to resemble a replay of a keystone cops skit. The resulting confusion, according to Mitch, makes council look stupid and inept. The rambling cacophonies waste time, cause the public to “dial out,” and hinders progress.

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Except for a visit last night by Ian Roland and Jeff Krull, it was a pretty uneventful night to the casual observer. It was a a committee session with ordinances introduced, rationalized or explained by city officials and passed out of committee. The usual stuff with no great ideological or person skirmishes. Tom Smith was away, and Glynn Hines presided. Tim Pape barely attended. He arrived just in time for his committee bills to be read, whisked through them with abandon and then settled back into his chair as if having crossed a finish line.

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Blow for blow, topic for topic, insult for insult, last night’s City Council meeting was the most interesting I have seen in the year that I have been following that august body.

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