Well it was around this time last year when the City Council decided to continue adding fluoridation to our water supply after 10 years of adding the toxic waste to our water supply that yielded nothing more than a lot of resentment in Port Angeles, that lead to the events of the February second meeting where the Deputy mayor Cherie Kidd, abruptly adjourned the meeting after the audience began berating the council during two public comment sessions, over their decision in continuing the practice of adding fluoride to the water supply to appease over zealot dentist who think they know whats best for all of us in Port Angeles. Reminds me of Father Knows Best, tv show! It was Kidd's behavior, and to some part of the audience that lead to the ethic board doing overload work, because all those ethic charges leveled on not only Kidd, but the entire council, all seven! For sure it had been a trying year for this council who now face having them all booted because the same group of folks opposing fluoridation that the way the city is being governed needs to change to a second class city, another tid bit from all that happened over this entire year, that vote to change the city government is slated to happen in 2017. By then no one will really care about that much I don't think because the city a few months ago agreed to bring the matter of fluoridation to a vote by the voters next year, and abide by what the voters vote for, which I might add should have been done in the first place.
So, during their council meeting this coming week the council will mull over Extending Member Appointments to Board of Ethics Pool .
According to the staff memo provided:
The City’s Ethics Code was adopted in 2012, and until this year, had not been used. Unlike other boards and commissions that meet routinely and have established past practices, the Board of Ethics had never met. Now that the process for disposition of four recent complaints has concluded, Council will take the opportunity to hold a worksession to review the process and the Code of Ethics as a whole. Staff will also suggest modifications to the ordinance that could simplify and make it procedurally more effective.
The work session is scheduled for February 28, 2017. Any changes to the Ordinance would need to subsequently be adopted by Council in open session at a regularly scheduled meeting. Current member terms will expire at the end of 2016. Because there may be significant changes to the ordinance, staff does not recommended at this time that we open up appointments to the board. At the work session, Council may decide to change how the board is structured, the terms of service, or what it asks of Board members, therefore it is prudent to wait until those changes are implemented before seeking new board members.
The following five previously-approved members are willing to extend their term in order to allow Council time to review the Ordinance: William Yucha, Kenneth Williams, Diane Tschimperle, Danetta Rutton and Frank Prince, Jr. Staff recommends that Council extend these board member appointments for six months.
Editorial note: And you thought this was all over! This is just another spark in a fire that seemed to die down, I mean after many ethic board hearings and code of ethics changes stemming from a even that happened last February, this will stir in the minds of citizens as a reminder of what transpired to lead to all these changes, and division. This little item just reminded me of that.
Another item on the city council agenda that is noteworthy, the council will have a quarterly report from the EDC! Isn't that a hoot! Seeing it was Council member Lee Whetham who during the last meeting made a motion last meeting to cut funding to the EDC, but failed.
They wrote a summary report to the council however and here is a quote from the report they offer:
"We continue to help any business in the county in any way possible. That is our primary role. Companies join the EDC because they are beneficiaries of that work or see that we are helping others and they believe that such work benefits them and the community in the long run.
A new "line of business" has presented itself since we reported the Lincoln acquisition of Allform in July. We have heard from a significant number of companies who seek advice on succession planning. Typically, a successful business owner who seeks to ret¡re would like to place his company in strong hands; to sell what he has built for a profit. But he often does not know where to look. Fortunately, because our EDC team has now met with
substantially more than 200 county companies, our rolodex has become a major resource. And because we have acted in confidence, we have an informed sense of those companies who would be appropriate acquirers. ln a local acquisition there can be multiple winners beyond the two companies involved and their employees. Local banks, accountants, and law firms are all likely to be part of the process. Local real estate firms can be the seller's agent.
And the EDC may have the chance to ínstaf I the many incentives available to our county which could make the transaction more attractive to the buyer. ln the end, such activity often saves jobs and creates new ones. ln the past 60 days, we have met with at least five owners regarding a possible sale of theír business."
See the full letter along with the rest of the agenda: http://wa-portangeles.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/3474
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