Quickies: Casino ad nauseum, dog park ad nauseum
A bunch of news came out of Monday's Grand Forks City Council meeting but I didn't have room in the paper for everything, so you'll read some of it here first.
* On the casino front, Council members Bob Brooks, Doug Christensent and Gerald Hamerlik said they were "disappointed" that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa chose to have a press conference rather than meet with the council, as requested. "Disappointed" is diplomatic-speak for "pissed off."
Want to know what I think? Somebody at the tribe was "disappointed" that Doug went off on them for not updating the council more frequently even though they say they've been sending him, Curt Kreun and Hal Gershman info all this time.
* It's taken the council two years to get to this point with the proposed dog park so what happens? An amendment to the leash law that would let dogs go off leash in areas designated as dog parks is going to a committee for don't-ask-me-what.
Anyway, it looks like the amendment is not necessary because, legally, the council could just pass a resolution. City attorney Howard Swanson said he'd prefer an amendment, but his explanation went right past me.
Doug says the law wouldn't be necessary if the dog park were located on that slice of Park District land south of Lions Park. And that site looks more and more like the site since a) the council passed a resolution requiring all dog parks to be fenced and b) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are said to be not too keen on the idea of a fenced dog park at the other proposed site, which is on the wet side of the dikes.
So what's the point of changing the law again? My head hurts.
* The council also approved a law requiring bartenders to get a license, but won't charge them a fee for doing so.
* Dakota is getting fed up with all these out-of-town trips government officials are taking at taxpayer expense. The latest is Mayor Mike Brown's and Councilman Kreun's convention in Las Vegas. Previously, she questioned School District officials' trip to Norway.
* Herald opinion editor Tom Dennis says the editorial board won't be making any endorsements any more. Must be all those "disappointed" readers writing in. From now on, the board will just analyze the pros and cons of each candidate. I like it.
* On the casino front, Council members Bob Brooks, Doug Christensent and Gerald Hamerlik said they were "disappointed" that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa chose to have a press conference rather than meet with the council, as requested. "Disappointed" is diplomatic-speak for "pissed off."
Want to know what I think? Somebody at the tribe was "disappointed" that Doug went off on them for not updating the council more frequently even though they say they've been sending him, Curt Kreun and Hal Gershman info all this time.
* It's taken the council two years to get to this point with the proposed dog park so what happens? An amendment to the leash law that would let dogs go off leash in areas designated as dog parks is going to a committee for don't-ask-me-what.
Anyway, it looks like the amendment is not necessary because, legally, the council could just pass a resolution. City attorney Howard Swanson said he'd prefer an amendment, but his explanation went right past me.
Doug says the law wouldn't be necessary if the dog park were located on that slice of Park District land south of Lions Park. And that site looks more and more like the site since a) the council passed a resolution requiring all dog parks to be fenced and b) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are said to be not too keen on the idea of a fenced dog park at the other proposed site, which is on the wet side of the dikes.
So what's the point of changing the law again? My head hurts.
* The council also approved a law requiring bartenders to get a license, but won't charge them a fee for doing so.
* Dakota is getting fed up with all these out-of-town trips government officials are taking at taxpayer expense. The latest is Mayor Mike Brown's and Councilman Kreun's convention in Las Vegas. Previously, she questioned School District officials' trip to Norway.
* Herald opinion editor Tom Dennis says the editorial board won't be making any endorsements any more. Must be all those "disappointed" readers writing in. From now on, the board will just analyze the pros and cons of each candidate. I like it.
posted by Tu-Uyen at 11:36 PM
2 Comments:
Why would tribe officals send updates only to Doug, Hal and Curt? I'm 'disappointed' that the entire council is apparently not deemed worthy enough to get updates. Doesn't anyone else see this as a problem?
Also, why would Mayor Brown go to the convention of mayors in Vegas and bring Curt (per Dakota's blog)? Is Curt the heir-apparent or a current mayor of some fiefdom that I'm unaware of?
I don't think the idea is to exclude council members. Sometimes the council will just assign some of its members to some particular task. It's a kind of committee, but not as formal. In the past, some council members have gotten annoyed when these "committees" fail to report some vital piece of news.
But otherwise I think many council members let it be because they don't have the time to be so involved.
One thing to note is that a meeting of three council members is not a quorum and does not require public notification.
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