08/16/2010 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Council Meeting Minutes 8-16-10 Page 7 I have one other issue. I heard it from Mr. Diemert and from some other people when I have been around talking about this. I don't want people to tell me again I'm not taking away your right to vote. I'm not that unintelligent. I know. I can still go to a voting place and vote. But you're taking away my right to vote for an issue that's pretty important to me. Thank you. Mr. Diemert stated, perhaps Mr. President we should understand also, this Council is prohibited from spending taxpayer dollars in support or against any ballot issue. So you need to understand that too. As you suggest they can't go out and publish - Ms. Kless stated, you can't verbalize your thoughts. Mr. Diemert replied, sure. Council President Buckholtz stated, if I can speak to that for one second. Again, we are trying to limit this debate because the simplicity of this function is just to have three readings on this and move it along to the voters. As Mr. Diemert eloquently said at the last meeting, you're talking about your right to vote and the Charter says that the electorate at large gets a chance to vote on this. We're really not supposed to promote or not promote what you're suggesting we do. I don't know if you're addressing us as Councilpeople or citizens, but my suggestion is, the way to go about this is and we have said this on the gas well issue and some other things, you need to lobby support or anyone on this Council as a private citizen can lobby support or lobby people to vote for it or against it. So really, if you're asking me, up here I can't discuss that, but if you want to talk to me about how I feel about it, knock on my door or tallc to your neighbors and that would be the appropriate thing. I don't know if I have made that clear on behalf of Council, but as private citizens, we can certainly have our own individual opinions and vote any way we want and talk to people. But as Council members, we are just doing what the Charter tells us to do. Council President Buckholtz asked if there was anyone else wishing to address Council. Try to keep it to 3-5 minutes. Richard Davis Hanover Road I would like just one point of clarification relative to Mr. Diemert's comment about the Council not being able to endorse or speak against an issue that was on the ballot because we recently had a tax- related issue that was on the ballot and I believe if I'm remembering correctly that the Council and the Mayor came out in favor of people voting for that issue. I believe that's the same type of thing that people are suggesting here is that Council should make their feelings known perhaps individually as Council members or if you decide to do so as a Council, collectively as a Council relative to your opinion on this and I don't think that would violate, unless I'm mistaken, the sense of the legalline that the Council may not cross and I believe that's the sense of what's being suggested here and I think that, from my standpoint, would be beneficial to the residents of Mayfield Village as they address this issue on the ballot.