Two drivers in police trucks with plows just did an energetic and efficient job of cleaning Municipal Lot 7. Very good work!--Bernice
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Well Done!
Two drivers in police trucks with plows just did an energetic and efficient job of cleaning Municipal Lot 7. Very good work!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Rec Commission Plan Stirs Dissent
Despite objections from the mayor, two council members and outspoken supporters of Recreation Superintendent Dave Wynn, an ordinance to establish a Recreation Commission will be on the agenda Jan. 18.
The proposed seven-member commission would be responsible for recreation programming and would set a budget to pay for it. Commissioners would appoint a “recreation coordinator” and recommend his or her salary to the mayor and council. Other recreation staff as needed could also be appointed by the commission. At present, the city has a Recreation Advisory Committee that would become the initial members of the commission, if the legislation passes.
Councilman William Reid blasted the plan as creating a new bureaucracy and said there had been “no complaints” about the Recreation Division. He also objected to having a group of residents given the powers outlined in the ordinance.
“It does look like we are picking on the Recreation Department,” Councilwoman Bridget Rivers said.
When new Councilwoman Rebecca Williams spoke in favor of the commission and said only “a paltry number of children” were being served by the city’s recreation programs, Reid repeatedly said she was giving “”false numbers.”
Councilman Cory Storch said he supported formation of the commission, “especially because of all the concerns you heard over last year.”
“I know we could serve a lot more kids,” he said.
As Plaintalker has reported, the Queen City Baseball League began complaining about treatment of its volunteer program in 2009 and the ensuing wrangle between the league and supporters of Wynn continued throughout 2010. The Recreation Advisory Committee was reactivated in part to sort out and possibly resolve the issues. Comments Monday reflected a continuance of widely opposing views on how well the Recreation Division is functioning.
Acting City Administrator Dan Williamson, who served as corporation counsel until City Administrator Bibi Taylor recently went out on maternity leave, said Monday, “The history of the administration’s objections (to a commission) is pretty clear,” though he said he recognized that the council had the votes to pass it. He said the proposal takes away authority from the mayor.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but we believe the answer is not to take away the mayor’s authority and stock the commission with the committee,” he said.
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs then voiced a number of objections, starting with the council’s budget amendment that shifted funds from Wynn’s salary line and put it in expenses for seasonal workers.
“Who’s going to run the programs?” she asked. “Volunteers can’t do that for the city of Plainfield. We do not need another layer of bureaucracy.”
Robinson-Briggs said if the legislation passed, she would “like to veto it.”
Council President Annie McWilliams said the ordinance would take two months to pass and the mayor could veto it, the council could override the veto.
Acting Corporation Counsel James Ventantonio questioned whether the proposal was not just “change for change’s sake,” uprooting the committee to make way for the commission. But Councilman Adrian Mapp defended the proposal as “giving structure” to recreation operations. He said the council had no desire to take authority away form the mayor, but was seeking to “ensure there is continuity” in running programs.
Williamson called on the council to allow the Recreation Division to operate, but McWilliams said, “It is my understanding that Recreation is unable to operate – what is it, it can or cannot?”
When McWilliams said she heard the mayor say Recreation could not operate, the mayor snapped back the she did not say that. Mapp then prodded the mayor on what she said , but the mayor responded that the “resolution” was not in compliance with the city’s special charter.
“You should be asking yourselves why you want to go to a commission rather than a committee,” she said, and told Mapp, “It is illegal – it is not in line with the charter.”
The mayor and Mapp, who were rivals in the June 2009 mayoral primary, then had an exchange in which she told Mapp, “Stop campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime.”
McWilliams reminded all parties that they have to see each other around the city, in church and elsewhere and called for respect. Mapp said he was just trying to get the mayor to bring the discussion to a close, and also held out the need for civility.
When McWilliams asked for a consensus on putting the ordinance on the Jan. 18 agenda for a vote on first reading, Reid and Rivers said no, but Storch, Mapp, Williams and McWilliams agreed to put it on.
In the public comment portion of the meeting, two supporters of Wynn lashed out at the council members and at Recreation Committee Chairman Dwayne Wilkins, who was in the audience.
Resident Dan Morgan, who is on the Recreation Advisory Committee, said a commission is unneeded and Wynn has a lot of support. He accused Storch of “trying to be slick” in commenting on the budget amendments and told Mapp, “You can smirk all you want.”
“Cory, I’m surprised at you,” Morgan said. “I thought you was on the up-and-up.”
Morgan alluded to “Sleepy Hollow” and the Second Ward that Storch represents and said, “It’s a vendetta against the other part of town.”
As McWilliams tried to invoke the rules for public comment, Morgan said, “You make it up as you go along,” and the mayor laughed.
Roland Muhammad, another Wynn supporter, said he missed the annual reorganization where he heard there was talk of unity, “But I don’t see it.”
“I see a divided city,” he said. “New Dems, old Dems. I live in the Fourth Ward. I represent the poor. This is our city,” he said, shaking a fist at Storch. “Look what happened in Washington. You act like Republicans to me.”
“You’re a joke,” Muhammad said to Storch, continuing his remarks and growing louder.
Finally McWilliams cautioned him, “Don’t yell,” but Muhammad said, “That’s my voice.
Again turning to Wilkins, he said, “I’m not afraid of the Fourth Ward, but I’m a little afraid of the Second.”
To Queen City Baseball League leader Karen Glencamp Daniel, he said, “My war is not with you.”
Muhammad went on to describe his 40-year friendship with Wynn and added, “I say things the mayor can’t say.”
“You’re a public servant,” he said in a final shot at Storch.
As the meeting adjourned at 12:25 a.m., the mayor thanked Muhammad.
The proposed seven-member commission would be responsible for recreation programming and would set a budget to pay for it. Commissioners would appoint a “recreation coordinator” and recommend his or her salary to the mayor and council. Other recreation staff as needed could also be appointed by the commission. At present, the city has a Recreation Advisory Committee that would become the initial members of the commission, if the legislation passes.
Councilman William Reid blasted the plan as creating a new bureaucracy and said there had been “no complaints” about the Recreation Division. He also objected to having a group of residents given the powers outlined in the ordinance.
“It does look like we are picking on the Recreation Department,” Councilwoman Bridget Rivers said.
When new Councilwoman Rebecca Williams spoke in favor of the commission and said only “a paltry number of children” were being served by the city’s recreation programs, Reid repeatedly said she was giving “”false numbers.”
Councilman Cory Storch said he supported formation of the commission, “especially because of all the concerns you heard over last year.”
“I know we could serve a lot more kids,” he said.
As Plaintalker has reported, the Queen City Baseball League began complaining about treatment of its volunteer program in 2009 and the ensuing wrangle between the league and supporters of Wynn continued throughout 2010. The Recreation Advisory Committee was reactivated in part to sort out and possibly resolve the issues. Comments Monday reflected a continuance of widely opposing views on how well the Recreation Division is functioning.
Acting City Administrator Dan Williamson, who served as corporation counsel until City Administrator Bibi Taylor recently went out on maternity leave, said Monday, “The history of the administration’s objections (to a commission) is pretty clear,” though he said he recognized that the council had the votes to pass it. He said the proposal takes away authority from the mayor.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but we believe the answer is not to take away the mayor’s authority and stock the commission with the committee,” he said.
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs then voiced a number of objections, starting with the council’s budget amendment that shifted funds from Wynn’s salary line and put it in expenses for seasonal workers.
“Who’s going to run the programs?” she asked. “Volunteers can’t do that for the city of Plainfield. We do not need another layer of bureaucracy.”
Robinson-Briggs said if the legislation passed, she would “like to veto it.”
Council President Annie McWilliams said the ordinance would take two months to pass and the mayor could veto it, the council could override the veto.
Acting Corporation Counsel James Ventantonio questioned whether the proposal was not just “change for change’s sake,” uprooting the committee to make way for the commission. But Councilman Adrian Mapp defended the proposal as “giving structure” to recreation operations. He said the council had no desire to take authority away form the mayor, but was seeking to “ensure there is continuity” in running programs.
Williamson called on the council to allow the Recreation Division to operate, but McWilliams said, “It is my understanding that Recreation is unable to operate – what is it, it can or cannot?”
When McWilliams said she heard the mayor say Recreation could not operate, the mayor snapped back the she did not say that. Mapp then prodded the mayor on what she said , but the mayor responded that the “resolution” was not in compliance with the city’s special charter.
“You should be asking yourselves why you want to go to a commission rather than a committee,” she said, and told Mapp, “It is illegal – it is not in line with the charter.”
The mayor and Mapp, who were rivals in the June 2009 mayoral primary, then had an exchange in which she told Mapp, “Stop campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime.”
McWilliams reminded all parties that they have to see each other around the city, in church and elsewhere and called for respect. Mapp said he was just trying to get the mayor to bring the discussion to a close, and also held out the need for civility.
When McWilliams asked for a consensus on putting the ordinance on the Jan. 18 agenda for a vote on first reading, Reid and Rivers said no, but Storch, Mapp, Williams and McWilliams agreed to put it on.
In the public comment portion of the meeting, two supporters of Wynn lashed out at the council members and at Recreation Committee Chairman Dwayne Wilkins, who was in the audience.
Resident Dan Morgan, who is on the Recreation Advisory Committee, said a commission is unneeded and Wynn has a lot of support. He accused Storch of “trying to be slick” in commenting on the budget amendments and told Mapp, “You can smirk all you want.”
“Cory, I’m surprised at you,” Morgan said. “I thought you was on the up-and-up.”
Morgan alluded to “Sleepy Hollow” and the Second Ward that Storch represents and said, “It’s a vendetta against the other part of town.”
As McWilliams tried to invoke the rules for public comment, Morgan said, “You make it up as you go along,” and the mayor laughed.
Roland Muhammad, another Wynn supporter, said he missed the annual reorganization where he heard there was talk of unity, “But I don’t see it.”
“I see a divided city,” he said. “New Dems, old Dems. I live in the Fourth Ward. I represent the poor. This is our city,” he said, shaking a fist at Storch. “Look what happened in Washington. You act like Republicans to me.”
“You’re a joke,” Muhammad said to Storch, continuing his remarks and growing louder.
Finally McWilliams cautioned him, “Don’t yell,” but Muhammad said, “That’s my voice.
Again turning to Wilkins, he said, “I’m not afraid of the Fourth Ward, but I’m a little afraid of the Second.”
To Queen City Baseball League leader Karen Glencamp Daniel, he said, “My war is not with you.”
Muhammad went on to describe his 40-year friendship with Wynn and added, “I say things the mayor can’t say.”
“You’re a public servant,” he said in a final shot at Storch.
As the meeting adjourned at 12:25 a.m., the mayor thanked Muhammad.
--Bernice Paglia
Vacancy Candidates Quizzed, Vote Next Week
Three candidates for a City Council vacancy were interviewed at Monday’s agenda session and the governing body will choose one at the regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
The three are former Fourth Ward candidate Vera Greaves, The Rev. Jason Greer and Union County Police Officer Willie Faulks, a slate approved Friday by the Democratic City Committee. The vacancy is in the First and Fourth Ward at large seat, from which Councilwoman Linda Carter resigned Dec. 27 in anticipation of being sworn in as a Union County freeholder.
Council President Annie McWilliams posed the same set of questions to each candidate, asking what special qualities they would bring to the council, what three problems they felt should be addressed, how council transparency could be improved and their views on economic development and increasing fiscal responsibility.
Greaves cited her abilities to organize and negotiate as her strengths, while Greer said, “I am a unifier and a go-getter for righteous purposes.”
“I’m outspoken and I have my own mind,” Faulks said, adding he thinks “outside the box” but is a team player.
Faulks named crime and tax relief as two main issues, while Greer emphasized housing conditions and public safety, saying some seniors were “afraid to leave their front porch.” Greaves said young men who loiter on street corners need “some kind of program” in sports or education as an alternative.
In answering other questions, the candidates tended to speak in general terms and did not show much familiarity with the workings of city government.
Councilman Adrian Mapp asked each one to say why they would not vote for the other two and why they should get the vote. Greaves and Greer declined to say anything about their opponents and Faulks said, “I would vote for all of us as I could.”
Mapp also asked how each would get the city to “move away from politics.” Greer’s answer was to get input from longtime, prominent residents and work “to make us a united front more so than a political front.”
McWilliams sought a consensus on one candidate at the meeting Monday, but others said that would be tantamount to choosing one of the three. After discussing whether three resolutions would have to be presented for up or down votes, the council asked Acting Corporation Counsel James Ventantonio to research how the process was handled the last time the governing body had to fill a vacancy.
The regular meeting is 8 p.m. Jan. 18 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.
--Bernice Paglia
The three are former Fourth Ward candidate Vera Greaves, The Rev. Jason Greer and Union County Police Officer Willie Faulks, a slate approved Friday by the Democratic City Committee. The vacancy is in the First and Fourth Ward at large seat, from which Councilwoman Linda Carter resigned Dec. 27 in anticipation of being sworn in as a Union County freeholder.
Council President Annie McWilliams posed the same set of questions to each candidate, asking what special qualities they would bring to the council, what three problems they felt should be addressed, how council transparency could be improved and their views on economic development and increasing fiscal responsibility.
Greaves cited her abilities to organize and negotiate as her strengths, while Greer said, “I am a unifier and a go-getter for righteous purposes.”
“I’m outspoken and I have my own mind,” Faulks said, adding he thinks “outside the box” but is a team player.
Faulks named crime and tax relief as two main issues, while Greer emphasized housing conditions and public safety, saying some seniors were “afraid to leave their front porch.” Greaves said young men who loiter on street corners need “some kind of program” in sports or education as an alternative.
In answering other questions, the candidates tended to speak in general terms and did not show much familiarity with the workings of city government.
Councilman Adrian Mapp asked each one to say why they would not vote for the other two and why they should get the vote. Greaves and Greer declined to say anything about their opponents and Faulks said, “I would vote for all of us as I could.”
Mapp also asked how each would get the city to “move away from politics.” Greer’s answer was to get input from longtime, prominent residents and work “to make us a united front more so than a political front.”
McWilliams sought a consensus on one candidate at the meeting Monday, but others said that would be tantamount to choosing one of the three. After discussing whether three resolutions would have to be presented for up or down votes, the council asked Acting Corporation Counsel James Ventantonio to research how the process was handled the last time the governing body had to fill a vacancy.
The regular meeting is 8 p.m. Jan. 18 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.
--Bernice Paglia
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Appointments, Recreation Commission Up Monday
A raft of appointments and a proposed Recreation Commission are among items up for consideration at the City Council's first agenda-fixing session Monday (Jan. 10, 2011).
Foremost among the nominees are three from whom the council will select one to fill the one-year unexpired term of former Councilwoman Linda Carter, representing the First and Fourth wards at-large. The Democratic City Committee voted for a slate of candidates Friday including former Fourth Ward candidate Vera Greaves, The Rev. Jason Greer and Union County Police Officer Willie Faulks.
Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has also submitted numerous names for boards and commissions and also for the Housing Authority of Plainfield and the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority. The council will conduct interviews Monday with nominees for the council seat and for the two authorities.
The proposed Board of Recreation Commissioners grew out of the governing body's desire to find a new approach to use of city playgrounds, parks and play fields. According to MC 2011-01, "after a review and analysis of the management of recreation programs and the facilities of the city," the proposed entity was deemed "in the best interest of the City."
At present, Recreation Superintendent Dave Wynn administers all programs. Under the new ordinance, the commission's seven appointed members and two alternates would have broad powers over programs, facilities and a budget. The board would "appoint the Recreation Coordinator and recommend his/her salary" to the mayor and council for review and approval and would also appoint other personnel as needed.
The board would formulate a detailed budget for council approval and would have a checking account for expenditures.
Members of the current Recreation Advisory Committee, reconstituted in 2010 to provide oversight to the existing Recreation Division, would become the initial members of the new board "to ensure continuity" until mayoral nominees receive council advice and consent to serve.
Concerns over management of the Recreation Division emerged in October 2009 when representatives of the Queen City Baseball League spoke at a City Council meeting at Hubbard Middle School. Click here to read Plaintalker's post. Allegations that the volunteer league was mistreated continued through early 2010, embroiling City Administrator Bibi Taylor and other officials in the matter. Here is a post on the situation as of May 2010.
Supporters of Wynn, youth baseball volunteers and Recreation Advisory Committee members gave the council conflicting views throughout 2010. Among its recommendations for the SFY 2011 budget, the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee suggested restructuring the Recreation Division to eliminate the full-time director's position in favor of a Recreation Commission and a part-time director. In December budget amendments, the council shifted a portion of the superintendent's salary and wage funds to the budget line for seasonal workers who staff programs, but denied they were cutting Wynn's job.
As in past discussions of the Recreation Division, the proposed ordinance is liable to spark heated reactions from those who feel its operations are fine just the way they are.
The meeting is 7:30 p.m. Monday in City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Ave. The agenda is posted on the city web site. Click here and scroll down to Jan. 10.
--Bernice Paglia
City's First Homicide Under Investigation
The city's first fatality due to gun violence occurred over the weekend, with the death of Andres Chach on West Front Street.
As widely reported, another young man, 20, was shot nine times on Jan. 3, even as Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs was calling for a moment of silence for last year's victims at the annual reorganization meeting.
Plaintalker does not have the resources to do crime reporting and can only acknowledge what is already reported in the dailies, but our sincere condolences go out to the family of Andres Chach and we offer our best wishes for the recovery of the young man who was shot nine times on Jan. 3.
We know local and county law enforcement personnel are doing their utmost to seek justice for the victims.
--Bernice
Sights Seen in January's First Week
After the Boxing Day blizzard, a "nuisance" snowfall just dusted the city last week. Coming our way according to the National Weather Service: A mid-week storm with possibly eight inches of snow.
Seen on the walk home from the Democratic City Committee meeting: Blue and white lights twinkle on the evergreens at the new Police Memorial.
If life (or your local supermarket) gives you lemons like these, don't make lemonade - make a call to the Health Division. Only trouble, markets normally just get checked once a year, leaving plenty of time to diss the urban consumer with bad produce.
Steam in the snow? Credit the big press that was smoothing out fill for potholes in the Twin City parking lot. Walking around the city is always interesting, though snow and ice add perhaps a little too much drama for the average elder pedestrian.
--Bernice
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Transit Village Question
So ... Linden is now a transit village after a four-year effort. Whatever became of Plainfield and the four "transit villages" proposed in 2006?
Plaintalker's post a year ago on the topic tells all there is to know. Click here for more information, with relevant links included.
--Bernice
Plaintalker's post a year ago on the topic tells all there is to know. Click here for more information, with relevant links included.
--Bernice
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