Good morning.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 41. Sunrise is 6:55 and sunset 4:26 for 9h 31m 44s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 63.1% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Common Council meets at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1959, American disc jockey Alan Freed, who had popularized the term “rock and roll” and music of that style, is fired from WABC radio over allegations he had participated in the payola scandal.
Linked above is the Whitewater Common Council agenda for the second council meeting of November. Embedded below is the full agenda packet for the session. (Although I have begun embedding the council or CDA agendas on the day of the respective meetings, this post offers both the full council packet and mention of items of notable interest to this libertarian blogger. Usually, I’ve not highlighted a meeting in advance, but the decline in quality representation from this council makes careful attention to the agenda and proceedings necessary.)
At the last council meeting, some of the listed items tonight were presented, but not decided. A few items from tonight’s agenda seem notable to this libertarian blogger. (Other residents will have their own particulars; their mileage may vary.)
STAFF REPORTS
Item 10. Lakes Update – Park and Rec.
Item 11. Aquatic Center Update – Park and Rec
Item 12. Immigration Roundtable Update – Police
Item 13. Police Staffing 2024 – Police
Item 15. von Briesen & Roper Resumes for 3 Labor and Employment Specialty Attorneys – HR
RESOLUTIONS
Item 16. Resolution adopting 2024-2025 City of Whitewater Municipal Budget – Finance
Item 25. Discussion and possible action regarding Virtual Meeting Policy – Allen/HR
Item 27. Discussion and possible action regarding the formation of a council action plan to address Common Council self-governance- Common Council/HR
CLOSED SESSION
Item 35. Adjourn to closed session, to reconvene in open session, Chapter 19.85(1)(f) “Considering financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons except where par. (b) applies which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or involved in such problems or investigations.” Item to be discussed: 1) Discussion regarding complaints received by the Human Resources Department
CONSIDERATIONS
Item 36. Discussion and possible action regarding matters addressed in closed session in response to a complaint received by the Human Resources Department. – HR/Employment Attorney
This is a long list of significant items. In the list at FREE WHITEWATER for the 11.7 session, posts here addressed many of the listed items discussed. Still, other listed items were only briefly discussed by the council, postponed for discussion, or due to be presented again (e.g., the municipal budget). For posts addressing key topics at the 11.7 session see The Complaint Against (Some) on the Whitewater Common Council, The Council’s Own, Extra Law Firm, The Local Press Conference that Was Neither Local Nor a Press Conference (at which councilmembers were present but the local press was not), Managing Pronunciations as Generational Independence, and Micromanaging the City of Whitewater’s Human Resources Work.
One key point: this council majority has lost any benefit of the doubt from its community. The solution is plain: if the council majority doesn’t want to be criticized as foolish and irresponsible, then it shouldn’t act foolishly and irresponsibly.
In all of this, Whitewater is a beautiful city, a delightful place to live, and a community far more capable than its council majority.
Fresh Pumpkin Pie | Melissa Clark Recipes | The New York Times:
Act 1: Lakeside Bickering Showdown
In Whitewater’s serene lakeside domain,
Council members point fingers with disdain.
Allen blame everyone else it seems,
While behind the scenes, it’s all about his schemes.
A lakes committee forms, cronies invited with glee?
Is it about solving issues or political jamboree?
They play the blame game with such delight,
In Whitewater’s lakeside theater of the absurd, they ignite.
Act 2: Aquatic Follies Extravaganza
At the Aquatic Center, a spectacle takes place,
The school district dances as jesters in space.
The city seems the voice of wisdom and sense,
While others twirl in a comical pretense.
The school district’s endless chatter, oh so grand,
Talk, talk, talk, yet nothing concrete planned.
In this aquatic comedy, laughter’s abound,
Solutions swim in circles, yet to be found.
Act 3: Immigration Conundrum Play
The Immigration Roundtable, a puzzling display,
Chief Meyer’s brief appearances causing dismay.
But what we’ve learned of Meyer’s mighty feat,
He’s solving the riddle with technology and staff, no deceit.
Gaps in services, he aims to bridge,
With manpower and solutions, no privilege.
It’s a square dance of sorts, a complex fiddle,
But Meyer’s working diligently in the middle.
Act 4: Legal Circus and Twists
In the council’s legal circus, twists and turns aplenty,
An extra law firm, oh, what a perplexing entry.
After much circling, endless legal ado,
They land right where they should have first flew.
Working with their existing firm, it now seems,
All that confusion and time wasted by Allen’s schemes.
A comedy of errors, legal matters they dare,
With a firm twist, creating quite a flare.
Act 5: Smoke and Mirrors Revelation
Behind the scenes, a cover-up plot in motion,
To distract from complaints about them, a tangled commotion.
Pre-written statements, all words, no-plans,
A mystery unfolding, what’s their next secret scam.
Smoke and flares in the council’s grand scheme,
A plot with more holes than it may seem.
The cover-up drama, a work of deceit,
But can it fool everyone it aims to greet?
Act 6: Budget Drama Unveiled
In the budget discussions, they’re loud and bold,
They write speeches about libraries, or so we’re told.
Infrastructure, staff, community desires ignite,
A budget plan now in place, Will the council ceaselessly fight?
Councilperson Gerber, with speeches so long,
She repeats I want, I demand, I’m entitled, like an unending song.
A budget tale with twists and bloviated turns,
Leaving Whitewater with more concerns as it discerns.
Act 7: Virtual Meeting Debate
Virtual meetings, a debate in the air,
Some council members say it’s time to spare.
But as they advocate, one question remains,
Have they attended lately, or is it just mind games?
Cancel the show after a Netflix binge,
Is it the same, or are they on the fringe?
Virtual advocates, arguments they fling,
In a world of screens, where meetings take wing.
In Whitewater’s theater of council disputes,
Acts of satire and folly, with varied routes.
The plot thickens, the drama won’t cease,
As the town watches, yearning for peace
Much appreciated!
I’ve written today that Whitewater is delightful, and it is. These verses are part of that delight, thank you; we have a clever community.
I agree with all these positions. Residents have never needed to watch so closely as now. We’ll see tonight how this majority conducts itself.
Dear Mr. Adams, scribe of Whitewater’s wit,
A tip of the hat for enjoying my poetic bit.
Your blog’s a beacon in sound governance’s night,
Now, a new quest needs your insightful light.
The CDA, with its cast so grand,
Seems a puppet show, strings pulled by a hidden hand.
Council President Allen, oh so compliant,
Before the Great King Landlord, never defiant.
Enter the lobbyist, a self-congratulating bard,
Speaking only of himself, sending press cards.
A decade’s gone, with little to see,
In the CDA’s future, they’re the past, leave them be.
Amidst this stage, a director new,
Steps into a play, with a challenging view.
Dear Mr. Adams, with your pen so fine,
Could you unravel this CDA’s poisonous vine?
Will the new director stand strong and tall,
Or in the shadow of faux giants, be made to feel small?
Let’s hope the city manager, in wisdom true,
Extends a protective wing, as good leaders do.
For directors have come, and directors have gone,
In Whitewater’s CDA drama, they’ve been used as a pawn.
As a long-time watcher, my concern I must share,
For the new lead actor, stepping into this snare.
So, Mr. Adams, with humor and might,
Urge citizens and taxpayers to hold the CDA to light.
Their actions less despicable, may they be,
Less unethical and self-dealing, for all to see.
Thank you once more, for your words that delight,
In a town turning pages, seeking what’s right.
Your blog’s a lonely lighthouse, a guide in the night,
But in the perilous waters of our city, a most welcomed sight.
There are three city or CDA topics that draw attention. The first is the city council majority since April. Even if there were no Community Development Authority, some of this council majority’s reasoning and conduct would be suspect(and worse, objectionable).
But it’s not possible to think about the council majority, particularly Allen, without thinking also about Allen’s ceaseless boosting on the CDA of a banker-landlord-PR-man clique to run development in this city. That’s a second topic. From the moment that a new city manager arrived as an interim, and certainly since he assumed that role permanently, Allen (and more recently Knight) have made clear to this city of 14,889 people where they stand. The September CDA meeting, with a few members absent, was a disgraceful performance. Knight’s handout and expressed umbrage at a subsequent council session could only be serious to a ridiculous person.
The problems of the CDA (and its relationship to council) over this immediate period are not lost on me.
There is a third inquiry long overdue: the historical performance of this CDA.
One way to write about the CDA or council is to post about individual meetings during the recent period I’ve mentioned (including going back).
But I would like to expand on recent posts about council, the recent CDA, and older posts about the CDA history. I think it would be useful to create single works dealing with those topics.
The practical question, one that I think I may have solved, is how to collect and organize large amounts of videos, transcripts, documents, and posts, and then use them to create a single document addressing a particular topic (city council since April, CDA over last eighteen months, CDA over a longer period). Many of these transcripts and videos are useful, and are of proceedings that have not be well-publicized, if publicized at all (by me, or anyone else).
So, it’s a project from two angles: documents and recordings into posts, but also documents and recordings that have not yet become posts into either posts or a single work combined of prior and new material. Documents and recordings into notes, notes forming outlines, outlines guiding drafts, and drafts into a final work. Much is done, much underway, with more to go. I think I’ve a good way to keep organized.
In the meantime, there are ongoing posts on council and (catching up on the CDA) to write.
My best to you,
Adams