Interesting Board meeting last night. A few thoughts:
1) Our new village attorneys showed up woefully ill-prepared. They didn't even have a copy of the section of the Municipal Code that governs the Parks and Recreation Board.
2) During their meetings to develop the plan to take over the Parks and Rec Board, President Gorman and Trustee Sacchi apparently failed to look at the legislative history of the Ordinance that established that Board. Even worse, neither did our attorneys. Had they done so, they might have discovered that the Village Board may not be permitted to dissolve the Parks and Rec Board, and that any decision regarding the future of that Board may need to be made by referendum--an idea that Trustee Sacchi had previously dismissed as either idiotic or ludicrous (I forget the language he used).
3) Neither President Gorman nor Trustee Sacchi was able to articulate in any meaningful way how dissolving the Parks and Rec Board would save the village money or streamline procedures. They both insisted that dissolving the Parks and Rec Board would accomplish this, but could not give one concrete example that stood up to scrutiny.
4) Trustee Sacchi rolls his eyes when residents speak.
5) Out of an audience of at least 100 people, not one person stepped up to speak in favour of the proposal. Not one.
6) Trustee Shevitz and President Gorman pass notes back and forth like a couple of schoolgirls. What would happen if they couldn't sit next to each other at meetings?
7) Trustees Shevitz and Reynolds had almost nothing to say. Waiting to see which way the wind is blowing?
The Board should end this fiasco as soon as possible. It was a stupid idea when the meeting started,and it became even more stupid as more facts were revealed. DOn't they have better things to do than mess with a Board and Department that has provided sterling service to our residents for over 70 years?