I have written extensively about the Barnstable Municipal Airport. The crowd that kind of reminds me of the gang that could not shoot straight.
The commission has unnecessarily picked fights with Barnstable residents and with our neighbors in Yarmouth. The BarnstableBlogger has recommended a simple plan to get us back on track.
My plan included:
1. The Town of Barnstable support the appointment of 2 Yarmouth residents to serve on the Airport Commission.
2. The Commission and Town Council representatives immediately meet with Airline officials to negotiate an understanding that flights don't start at the crack of dawn.
3. The Commission be required to implement a real noise monitoring and abatement Program with the help, advice and guidance of Yarmouth officials.
I watched the last Airport Commission meeting (why aren't they shown live?) and was horrified how the Yarmouth gentleman (as in gentle man) was mistreated by an arrogant Airport Commission. All he was asking for was a REAL evaluation of noise complaints in Yarmouth. The one-time, middle of the day, one hour survey was laughable. Someone should look into the staff who is responsible for such a joke.
I hereby amend my plan to also include:
4. Change the Town Charter to bring the Airport Commission under town management. This certainly would increase accountability and professionalize the operation.
5. Appoint new members to the Airport Commission. Several members (the problem, not the solution) are up for reappointment. The Council should act swiftly and decisively. And,
6. Televise all Airport Meetings live and replay them at times when people are watching.
The Town Council has a real opportunity to show leadership on this one. My bet is that they will seize the moment and do the right thing.
What do you think?
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Status of Public Comment
I love Public Comment at the Town Council meetings. I am glad we have it. And I am glad the town has public hearings on agenda items so that any citizen can offer testimony, advice and commentary. That is good stuff. The other night I learned much about alternative energy plans, elderly housing and pollution in our largest lake. The public comment on these items during the hearings was terrific.
But that wasn't the case with the general Public Comment.
The general public comment portion was a joke. First of all, a guy gets up and criticizes the town for the condition of the sidewalks on Route 6A. A very valid complaint, except for the fact that Rt. 6A is a State road, not a town road.
Next we had some guy criticizing the town for not being Hollywood East. Ya, right!
Then we hear from a homeless guy who justifiably complained about getting kicked out of the Hyannis Library. Except that Hyannis Library is a PRIVATE organization, not a town agency.
And last but not least, we have a guy named John Julius. He is a guy who the hate blogs wind up and send in every meeting to criticize the town. Doesn't matter what the topic, he criticizes. He calls himself a spokesman of and for the people. But we never get to figure out what people. If we didn't know differently, we would think that he was getting paid to appear at every meeting by someone/some group with an ax to grind with the town. Except the BarnstableBlogster doesn't know any town antagonist that would want to be associated with this guy.
Julius is a self-appointed, self anointed demagogue who smacks of arrogance, self righteousness and self importance. He knows it all, this guy. If you doubt it, just ask him.
Except for one thing. He hasn't figured out that anyone watching the Council meetings regularly has long since figured him out. Any amateur counselor (not Councilor) would have a field day analyzing his look, his demeanor, his body language and his smugness. His mean-spirited, demeaning and antagonistic persona is so offensive that even if he had something meaningful to say, it would be lost in a sea of arrogance. And if you ever caught his diatribes on the hate blogs, which he must spend most of every day on, you might think of the word, CERTIFIABLE!
And now we just received a note from a loyal Barnstableblog visitor that he is going to run for a public office. Surprise, Surprise. A real live candidate for public office. Well stay tuned ladies and gentlemen.
We'll have much more on this guy soon. A candidate for office.
Oh My!
But that wasn't the case with the general Public Comment.
The general public comment portion was a joke. First of all, a guy gets up and criticizes the town for the condition of the sidewalks on Route 6A. A very valid complaint, except for the fact that Rt. 6A is a State road, not a town road.
Next we had some guy criticizing the town for not being Hollywood East. Ya, right!
Then we hear from a homeless guy who justifiably complained about getting kicked out of the Hyannis Library. Except that Hyannis Library is a PRIVATE organization, not a town agency.
And last but not least, we have a guy named John Julius. He is a guy who the hate blogs wind up and send in every meeting to criticize the town. Doesn't matter what the topic, he criticizes. He calls himself a spokesman of and for the people. But we never get to figure out what people. If we didn't know differently, we would think that he was getting paid to appear at every meeting by someone/some group with an ax to grind with the town. Except the BarnstableBlogster doesn't know any town antagonist that would want to be associated with this guy.
Julius is a self-appointed, self anointed demagogue who smacks of arrogance, self righteousness and self importance. He knows it all, this guy. If you doubt it, just ask him.
Except for one thing. He hasn't figured out that anyone watching the Council meetings regularly has long since figured him out. Any amateur counselor (not Councilor) would have a field day analyzing his look, his demeanor, his body language and his smugness. His mean-spirited, demeaning and antagonistic persona is so offensive that even if he had something meaningful to say, it would be lost in a sea of arrogance. And if you ever caught his diatribes on the hate blogs, which he must spend most of every day on, you might think of the word, CERTIFIABLE!
And now we just received a note from a loyal Barnstableblog visitor that he is going to run for a public office. Surprise, Surprise. A real live candidate for public office. Well stay tuned ladies and gentlemen.
We'll have much more on this guy soon. A candidate for office.
Oh My!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
New Leadership- Same old Tactics
The Hate Blogs are at it again. Different person, same strategy. The hate blogs strategy is to criticize the Town of Barnstable at all costs. For two years, all we read about was how dastardly then Council President Henry Farnham was. Hank Farnham this and Hank Farnham that. They attacked everything he did and everything he said. The attacked his honesty, his integrity and his motivations. Then, as if the seas parted, nary a word about Henry Farnham, since he no longer is Council President.
Now it is Janet Joakim. Janet Joakim this and Janet Joakim that. The Hate Blogs are attacking her honesty, her intergrity and her motivations. New leadership. Same old tactics.
What the Hate Blogs fail to understand is that they have no corner on the honesty and integrity market. KapeKog, John Julius and the Boston Blogster are laughing stocks in our community. The only difference among the three is that Lopez and Muffy are smart enough to stay behind the scenes and throw the grenades. Julius isn't that bright. They say jump, and Johny Boy says how high. They say go to the Council meeting every Thursday night and make a fool of yourself, and Johnny J. says, sir yes sir.
What a joke they make of themselves. What a joke they make of the process!
Now it is Janet Joakim. Janet Joakim this and Janet Joakim that. The Hate Blogs are attacking her honesty, her intergrity and her motivations. New leadership. Same old tactics.
What the Hate Blogs fail to understand is that they have no corner on the honesty and integrity market. KapeKog, John Julius and the Boston Blogster are laughing stocks in our community. The only difference among the three is that Lopez and Muffy are smart enough to stay behind the scenes and throw the grenades. Julius isn't that bright. They say jump, and Johny Boy says how high. They say go to the Council meeting every Thursday night and make a fool of yourself, and Johnny J. says, sir yes sir.
What a joke they make of themselves. What a joke they make of the process!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
A Proud Day, Continued
The Barnstable Patriot's latest edition included a summary of the All America City Award:
Barnstable, an All-America City
Town makes successful pitch at competition in California
By David Still IIdstill@barnstablepatriot.com
The Town of Barnstable is now an All-America City.The Denver, Colo.-based National Civic League conferred that title on Barnstable and nine other communities at its national competition in Anaheim.Assistant Manager Paul Niedzwiecki said that the competition is not about being judged the best community in the country, but how communities have identified and met specific challenges. For Barnstable, the three areas addressed were downtown revitalization, youth initiatives and affordable housing.The revamped and “incentivized” downtown zoning, creation of the growth management department and investment in the Zion Union Heritage Museum were all part of the downtown portion of the presentation. The Zion Union Church Choir made the trip to Anaheim and performed as part of the presentation. Unlike the 20-plus minute performance at Klimm’s state of the town address in April, the choir was without instrumentation. The condensed a cappella performance was seen by town officials as being an important piece in winning the award.The 10th grade Youth Commission Chairman, Mark Raymond was also a standout, according to town council President Janet Joakim. Raymond impressed not just in the formal presentation, but also during the unscripted Q&A period with the judges, she said. As part of the affordable housing piece, a couple who was able to purchase a home through one of the programs was part of the presentation.Barnstable’s 10-minute presentation and 12 minutes of questions and answers from the judges was videotaped, but the footage has yet to be compiled. Klimm said that it would be made available when it is pieced together.The National Civic League has been giving All-America City awards since 1959. The league was started in 1894 by Theodore Roosevelt. The competition is application-based. Cities and town have to choose to enter, paying fees based on their population. Barnstable’s application, filed in March, cost $300 to enter. The town was notified in April that it was among 21 finalists to present in California.Barnstable was the only first-year winner in this year’s competition.Klimm said that traveling to the competition and talking with communities from all over the map reminded him just how big and different the United States is. He also said that there are still a lot of common issues regardless of location.Joakim, the target of a recall effort earlier this year and persistent criticism during her time as council president, said that as in Barnstable, there are critics of local governments across the country. In all, about 40 people represented Barnstable on the trip. Enough money was raised through private fund-raising to cover the entire expense of the trip, but expenses for Klimm, Niedzwiecki, Growth Management Director Ruth Weil, Director of Community Services Lynne Poyant and other town administrators were covered with town funds. Klimm said that the decision to use town travel funds was to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest in accepting funding from private sources. Klimm said that the cost to Barnstable Taxpayers is less than $10,000. The town budgeted $15,000 for out of state travel for FY 2007.The additional funds raised will likely be used to offset costs to travel to Washington, D.C., as Klimm was told to expect an invitation to the White House and Congress because of the award.
David Still is the editor of the Barnstable Patriot. He welcomes your feedback.
Another round of Kudo's for our wonderful community. While Mr. Still was writing the news story, Columnist Michael Daley offered his thoughts:
Congratulations to us
By Michael Daley
Congratulations to all of us. We now live in an All-American City. This is good news, and it should be welcomed by one and all. At least this week, let’s all give ourselves a pat on the back for picking such a good community to live in.Is there room for improvement? Sure there is. I respect that there are some residents who don’t like that people outside our community think things are better than average around here. To me, most of these angry taxpayers seem to habitually disagree with a handful of individual leaders. This group just can’t accept that our community enjoys more ups than downs these days. Let’s hope things don’t ever get as bad as this group wishes they were.This national recognition is not just about a few staff members or elected officials. When my wife and I registered at our hotel in Anaheim last Saturday, we found that, at a minimum, we became the 48th and 49th residents of Barnstable in that hotel. There are 47 individuals from our community who traveled to California to tell a portion of the story of life in Barnstable. That’s another indication of why success flows towards us here in Barnstable: Teamwork is very much a key to our award. Much of the award centers on youth, who have been served very well by our local government. The fact that a new recreation facility is primarily being built by you, me and the rest of our taxpaying neighbors is a fact. The original promoters of the facility clearly can’t add one with one and get two. One of the early hustlers of the facility even claims he raised $18 million for the project. These P.T. Barnum types didn’t get us recognized as an All-American community; the elected leaders of this community created a youth commission many years ago. Recently a majority of our elected leaders took the last of several difficult votes. Courageous leadership is the reason we have national recognition.The issue of affordable housing is also very difficult to manage from the local town hall. There are so many uncontrollable variables that impact this socio-economic goal. The same is true from the development side. Our local government’s previous behavior has not helped affordable housing matters at all. Some twenty plus years ago many of us, myself included, voted for zoning by-laws that hurt our community in this arena.Another large part of the town’s efforts were geared towards protecting our fragile environment. Prior elected leaders’ votes that created two-acre house lots and eliminated condominium residence construction also historically hurt our town’s affordable housing efforts. Our current staff and elected leaders have worked both with the old rules we gave them and with a few new ones they voted for. Our national recognition is both because of our leaders and in spite of them. Historically our leaders have always acted in our best interest. Today is no different, and it could possibly be even better than in the past.The fact that fundraising helped get all of those volunteers out to California is testimony to our business leaders’ commitment to this community. There is no question that our business leaders helped Barnstable to achieve this new recognition. There are some business leaders that valiantly donated towards our new recreational facility. One local family business was especially generous during the fundraising effort.Barnstable’s award-winning formula was very representative of who and what we are as a community. We were very well-served by a good team of cross-representation from businesses, the government and the community. Thank you for believing in yourselves and the special place where we live. Thank you for taking the risk of rejection. Perhaps there was a bit of help from a special white-gloved mouse or from Peter Pan’s pixie friend in Anaheim. Whatever it was, thank you to all 47 citizens who traveled to a place where dreams can come true. At least one resident is grateful that you did. Good job!
The Column summarizes the feelings of many in Barnstable who are proud to call this community our home. This is a Proud Day for Barnstable!
Barnstable, an All-America City
Town makes successful pitch at competition in California
By David Still IIdstill@barnstablepatriot.com
The Town of Barnstable is now an All-America City.The Denver, Colo.-based National Civic League conferred that title on Barnstable and nine other communities at its national competition in Anaheim.Assistant Manager Paul Niedzwiecki said that the competition is not about being judged the best community in the country, but how communities have identified and met specific challenges. For Barnstable, the three areas addressed were downtown revitalization, youth initiatives and affordable housing.The revamped and “incentivized” downtown zoning, creation of the growth management department and investment in the Zion Union Heritage Museum were all part of the downtown portion of the presentation. The Zion Union Church Choir made the trip to Anaheim and performed as part of the presentation. Unlike the 20-plus minute performance at Klimm’s state of the town address in April, the choir was without instrumentation. The condensed a cappella performance was seen by town officials as being an important piece in winning the award.The 10th grade Youth Commission Chairman, Mark Raymond was also a standout, according to town council President Janet Joakim. Raymond impressed not just in the formal presentation, but also during the unscripted Q&A period with the judges, she said. As part of the affordable housing piece, a couple who was able to purchase a home through one of the programs was part of the presentation.Barnstable’s 10-minute presentation and 12 minutes of questions and answers from the judges was videotaped, but the footage has yet to be compiled. Klimm said that it would be made available when it is pieced together.The National Civic League has been giving All-America City awards since 1959. The league was started in 1894 by Theodore Roosevelt. The competition is application-based. Cities and town have to choose to enter, paying fees based on their population. Barnstable’s application, filed in March, cost $300 to enter. The town was notified in April that it was among 21 finalists to present in California.Barnstable was the only first-year winner in this year’s competition.Klimm said that traveling to the competition and talking with communities from all over the map reminded him just how big and different the United States is. He also said that there are still a lot of common issues regardless of location.Joakim, the target of a recall effort earlier this year and persistent criticism during her time as council president, said that as in Barnstable, there are critics of local governments across the country. In all, about 40 people represented Barnstable on the trip. Enough money was raised through private fund-raising to cover the entire expense of the trip, but expenses for Klimm, Niedzwiecki, Growth Management Director Ruth Weil, Director of Community Services Lynne Poyant and other town administrators were covered with town funds. Klimm said that the decision to use town travel funds was to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest in accepting funding from private sources. Klimm said that the cost to Barnstable Taxpayers is less than $10,000. The town budgeted $15,000 for out of state travel for FY 2007.The additional funds raised will likely be used to offset costs to travel to Washington, D.C., as Klimm was told to expect an invitation to the White House and Congress because of the award.
David Still is the editor of the Barnstable Patriot. He welcomes your feedback.
Another round of Kudo's for our wonderful community. While Mr. Still was writing the news story, Columnist Michael Daley offered his thoughts:
Congratulations to us
By Michael Daley
Congratulations to all of us. We now live in an All-American City. This is good news, and it should be welcomed by one and all. At least this week, let’s all give ourselves a pat on the back for picking such a good community to live in.Is there room for improvement? Sure there is. I respect that there are some residents who don’t like that people outside our community think things are better than average around here. To me, most of these angry taxpayers seem to habitually disagree with a handful of individual leaders. This group just can’t accept that our community enjoys more ups than downs these days. Let’s hope things don’t ever get as bad as this group wishes they were.This national recognition is not just about a few staff members or elected officials. When my wife and I registered at our hotel in Anaheim last Saturday, we found that, at a minimum, we became the 48th and 49th residents of Barnstable in that hotel. There are 47 individuals from our community who traveled to California to tell a portion of the story of life in Barnstable. That’s another indication of why success flows towards us here in Barnstable: Teamwork is very much a key to our award. Much of the award centers on youth, who have been served very well by our local government. The fact that a new recreation facility is primarily being built by you, me and the rest of our taxpaying neighbors is a fact. The original promoters of the facility clearly can’t add one with one and get two. One of the early hustlers of the facility even claims he raised $18 million for the project. These P.T. Barnum types didn’t get us recognized as an All-American community; the elected leaders of this community created a youth commission many years ago. Recently a majority of our elected leaders took the last of several difficult votes. Courageous leadership is the reason we have national recognition.The issue of affordable housing is also very difficult to manage from the local town hall. There are so many uncontrollable variables that impact this socio-economic goal. The same is true from the development side. Our local government’s previous behavior has not helped affordable housing matters at all. Some twenty plus years ago many of us, myself included, voted for zoning by-laws that hurt our community in this arena.Another large part of the town’s efforts were geared towards protecting our fragile environment. Prior elected leaders’ votes that created two-acre house lots and eliminated condominium residence construction also historically hurt our town’s affordable housing efforts. Our current staff and elected leaders have worked both with the old rules we gave them and with a few new ones they voted for. Our national recognition is both because of our leaders and in spite of them. Historically our leaders have always acted in our best interest. Today is no different, and it could possibly be even better than in the past.The fact that fundraising helped get all of those volunteers out to California is testimony to our business leaders’ commitment to this community. There is no question that our business leaders helped Barnstable to achieve this new recognition. There are some business leaders that valiantly donated towards our new recreational facility. One local family business was especially generous during the fundraising effort.Barnstable’s award-winning formula was very representative of who and what we are as a community. We were very well-served by a good team of cross-representation from businesses, the government and the community. Thank you for believing in yourselves and the special place where we live. Thank you for taking the risk of rejection. Perhaps there was a bit of help from a special white-gloved mouse or from Peter Pan’s pixie friend in Anaheim. Whatever it was, thank you to all 47 citizens who traveled to a place where dreams can come true. At least one resident is grateful that you did. Good job!
The Column summarizes the feelings of many in Barnstable who are proud to call this community our home. This is a Proud Day for Barnstable!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A Proud Day For Barnstable
The news that Barnstable won national recognition as an All American City is wonderful. The residents who traveled to California are owed our thanks for representing our community is such a thoughtful and meaningful way. When compared to other communities in either Massachusetts or in this country, we seem to consistently come out on top.
Barnstable is a great place to live, work and play. This is a proud day for Barnstable!
Barnstable is a great place to live, work and play. This is a proud day for Barnstable!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Their Day is Ruined, Simply Ruined
Man Oh Man. How the Hate Bloggers day was ruined. According to the Cape Cod Times, the Town of Barnstable won the coveted All America City Award. The Town beat out hundreds of other communities to make it to the final competition in California.
A delegation went out (paid for privately) and competed with the 20 best. And Barnstable won. We won. What a nice feeling. Unless you're a Hate Blogger.
The KapeKogster declared the competition was fixed. The BostonMugster said that something was amiss. Man, Oh Man, how they hate to see Barnstable succeed.
The want Barnstable to fail at any cost.
Because they hate Barnstable.
Always did. Always will.
And you wonder why the hate bloggers have no credibility? It's because most Barnstable residents love our town. Always did. Always will!
A delegation went out (paid for privately) and competed with the 20 best. And Barnstable won. We won. What a nice feeling. Unless you're a Hate Blogger.
The KapeKogster declared the competition was fixed. The BostonMugster said that something was amiss. Man, Oh Man, how they hate to see Barnstable succeed.
The want Barnstable to fail at any cost.
Because they hate Barnstable.
Always did. Always will.
And you wonder why the hate bloggers have no credibility? It's because most Barnstable residents love our town. Always did. Always will!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Slow but Steady Start
The Barnstable Patriot reports today that the elections are on in Barnstable. Several candidates for Charter Commission, Town Council, School Committee, Housing Authority and Town Collector have jumped into the ring. We need, and hope, more candidates will follow over the next few weeks.
We are blessed with residents with vast experience and expertise, but we need them to step forward. How can we convince good candidates to commit themselves to running for office, especially in this time of negativity?
Any suggestions?
We are blessed with residents with vast experience and expertise, but we need them to step forward. How can we convince good candidates to commit themselves to running for office, especially in this time of negativity?
Any suggestions?
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Time for Citizens to Step Forward
The long-awaited announcement came the other day that enough signatures have been gathered to form a Charter Commission. No surprises there. Why would any Barnstable resident not sign a petition to periodically study our form of government to look for improvements. We have had many Charter Commissions in the past, and should have periodic review in the future.
Which begs the question, why not just build a periodic review into the new Charter?
Having said that, On Election Day in November, we will be asked two questions:
1. Do we want to form a 9 member Charter Commission? The Barnstable Blogster hopes all vote YES.
2. If so, we also get to vote on who we want to serve?
But before we get that chance, people have to choose to run. That is much easier said than done. Over the past few years, there has been a constant barrage of personal attacks and negativity that probably will have an negative impact on who is willing to serve. We hope that isn't the case.
Our future depends on quality individuals coming forward to serve. Citizens who bring to the table an open mind, a willingness to work hard to research the issues and an ability to sell their end-product to us.
The Charter Commission should not be an extension of the personality and ego driven hate mongering that we read on local blogs. It should be a positive process designed to bring people Together. Now that would be a welcome change.
So, what about a run for office? If you just can't swing it, why not try to convince other respected citizens to run.
The BarnstableBlogger was impressed with the wonderful and diverse people who volunteered their time on the Council Review Committee. We hope we'll see a similar group of talented, diverse and compassionate citizens elected to the new Charter Commission. Any ideas on who you would like to see serve? Any thoughts on how to overcome the recent negativity to get talented persons to come forward?
What do you think?
Which begs the question, why not just build a periodic review into the new Charter?
Having said that, On Election Day in November, we will be asked two questions:
1. Do we want to form a 9 member Charter Commission? The Barnstable Blogster hopes all vote YES.
2. If so, we also get to vote on who we want to serve?
But before we get that chance, people have to choose to run. That is much easier said than done. Over the past few years, there has been a constant barrage of personal attacks and negativity that probably will have an negative impact on who is willing to serve. We hope that isn't the case.
Our future depends on quality individuals coming forward to serve. Citizens who bring to the table an open mind, a willingness to work hard to research the issues and an ability to sell their end-product to us.
The Charter Commission should not be an extension of the personality and ego driven hate mongering that we read on local blogs. It should be a positive process designed to bring people Together. Now that would be a welcome change.
So, what about a run for office? If you just can't swing it, why not try to convince other respected citizens to run.
The BarnstableBlogger was impressed with the wonderful and diverse people who volunteered their time on the Council Review Committee. We hope we'll see a similar group of talented, diverse and compassionate citizens elected to the new Charter Commission. Any ideas on who you would like to see serve? Any thoughts on how to overcome the recent negativity to get talented persons to come forward?
What do you think?
