Agenda packets are here. Then do the lotsa-clicks-thing to drill down.
Board Meeting #
7 Ordinances and Resolutions #
There’s nothing controversial in this list. The big ticket items in 7.C just authorize payment on legally binding terms already agreed to when we bought out the loan on the Waters’ Edge property.
8-B Village of Raymond Project #
If you don’t know, we have a border agreement with the Village of Raymond that governs the shared border from the highway to 1 mile west of the highway. Oversimplifying, projects they do in that 1 mile strip go through their process/approval and ours. The project in question here is a storage building to be added to the 7 Mile Fair grounds. It’s out of sight and seems pretty benign (https://data.zoninghub.com/viewfile.aspx?fileid=106520) but process is process.
When it came through the Planning Commission, I advocated for pushing it to the board with “no recommendation.” The staff was doing its work correctly to say it fell short of standards we would apply to a project in Caledonia. I thought the project just needed the board to decide: “if it’s tucked way back there, do we really care?” The border agreement seems to exist to ensure that we have the ability to influence what happens on the other side of the highway that might affect us. So we’re pushing it to the board and asking for that opinion.
9-A Trustee #2 Candidate Interviews #
4 of them. Each candidate will give an intro, then answer a set of common questions, then answer candidate-specific questions from trustees.
Now for my brutal honesty and radical transparency commentary…
But first, a digression. When I was a kid, my dad always bought packaged desserts that came in multiples of 3 (there were 3 kids). There was no argument about who got the last ice cream sandwich in our household. Consult the math. There was also no debate over whether you got to stay home from school. Temperature > 100F or you go. No debate, just measurement. Fairness was both inherited and learned through repetition. Take as much subjectivity as possible out of the decision-making.
A month into this village prez thing and I can see how I can use the little extra influence the position affords to direct an outcome. My predecessor took a little grief, perhaps warranted, for doing that. I am committed to both the reality and perception of fairness. Twelve candidates applied. Four were selected for interview using a process that gave every trustee equal weight in a blinded vote. The interview process is designed to be as fair as possible – intro, common questions, then open questions from trustees. It’s not perfect, and any process will be subject to criticism, but I’m trying.
The closed session is on the agenda just in case the proposed process doesn’t lead to an obvious answer. I’m hoping we don’t need it.
10 Trustee Selection #
I’ll be recommending another as-fair-as-possible mechanism that gives me no more influence than any other trustee. We’ll discuss, maybe amend, then agree on the process. Then we’ll vote and we’ll have a 7th trustee again. Then nobody else is allowed to resign because the process is a pain. And if anyone does resign, we’re doing rock-paper-scissors to select the next one.
Committee of the Whole (CoW) #
Light agenda, though I am eager to hear the three traffic-related requests. Continuing business has an item I care about that was laid over from last meeting – agenda management discussion. I’m eager to implement a more open, transparent process that keeps board and staff honest about priorities, workload, and progress. A guy can dream, no?