10/02/2007 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 10/2/2007 LETTERS AND COMMUNICA.TI4NS Per the request of resident Dennis Lambert, the Clerk read a letter received by him from Council President Kennedy and his response to the letter: "Dear Mr. Lambert: It has come to my attention that, during the course of Council discussion last night, you left your seat in the audience, approached the dais, and spoke with members of Council. Such conduct is disruptive to the process. Please be advised that in the future you are not to speak or approach the dais unless given permission by me. This rule-which you know well-preserves decorum and ensures an orderly process. I trust that this letter will be sufficient notice for you to tailor your future conduct. Sincerely yours, Kevin M. Kennedy, President of Council" "Dear President Kennedy: I received your Letter of Concern, dated September 19, 2007, wherein you noted that I had left my seat and approached the dais and spoke with a member of Council during the meeting of September 17t". (September 18) You further stated that my conduct was disruptive to the process. There is no doubt as President of Council, you are charged with the responsibility of keeping the order and administering the rules. I do, however, have some concerns with the disparity and the dichotomy by which you perform your duties. In your letter you state, `It has been brought to my attention...' That statement in of itself indicates that at that time, you did not consider my presence disruptive. Had you noticed me at the dais and had I been disruptive, you should have spoken to me, just as you have done to others in the past. It should also be noted that routinely throughout these formal meetings of council, members of Council get up, move about, and have private discussions among themselves while reports and other business transpire; thereby, depriving the public of an opportunity to hear and have on the record all that is being transacted during these formal meetings. During the Council Meeting on August 21St, Councilman Michael Gareau without permission of the chair got up during Council reports and left the room. I observed him talking to representatives of Walter Dentistry just outside of the chambers. Since Mr. Gareau was formally in attendance at that meeting, his actions and conversations should have been part of the meeting minutes. They were not. It should also be noted for the record, I approached Councilman Ryan during a period of time when council was waiting silently for Law Director Dubelko as he was paging though the Rules of Council to determine an issue of protocol regarding motions. I was careful not to be disruptive. It should also be noted that I have been attending City Council Meetings regularly since 1993 and do not recall you being present at anytime except just before your appointment as President to replace Thomas O'Grady. Therefore, you would not be aware that in the past, on rare occasions, I would approach the dais and none of the three prior presidents expressed a problem to me. This does not detract from the position that you now take in your letter dated September 19`" ;however, be aware that you set the standards by which all of us conduct ourselves during these meetings. These standards should not be applied with disparity but with consistency and not only among those who are observers, but among all wha participate in these formal meetings. It is up to you to establish, by example, how formally you want these meetings to run. I find the motivation for your September 19tH letter to be a bit surprising and suspicious since in the past you have had no problems speaking to me. Regarding the issue of the one-minute discussion I had with Councilman 10