This coming Monday, 8/24/09 the Shawnee City Council will consider reinstating franchise fees for they city's residential gas and electric utility users.
The council meeting starts at 7:30PM. Regardless of your position on this subject it is important, at least to many folks. Show up, listen, and maybe even voice your opinion. Let the council know where you stand. You don't need to have a speech, you don't need charts, you just have to get up, when recognized by the mayor, and say whether you support or oppose this item. Or again, just be there.
I have been to a variety of meetings here. Some of them with contentious issues, and yet have never seen the meetings denigrate to the shouting, screaming matches like the recent townhall meetings for the federal health care issue. Here in Shawnee we know how to express ourselves without getting into the gutter. Exercise your legal rights. Come on out and participate in a process that many have made sure you still have. Remember, there are many that don't have this right in other parts of the world.
Also, at this time I think it appropriate to say thank you to the 5 council members who voted to postpone this item from the 10th to the 24th so that possibly more folks in the city could get involved. It is an important matter. That would be councilmembers Straub, Distler, Pflumm, Sawyer and Goode.
I think the 3 councilmembers who voted against the postponement (Scott, Kuhn & Sandifer)really were mistaken in that action. When in doubt always allow for maximum citizen involvement.
The below quoted item appeared in an article in the Shawnee Dispatch on 8/12/09. The full article can be read here: http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2009/aug/12/franchise-fee-discussion-delayed/ Ms Kuhn was one of the ones that did not want to postpone the item
Kuhn said the only result she saw from tabling the issue was “more negative energy be spent on something that really shouldn’t be causing the turmoil in the city that it is. By waiting two weeks, the facts before the Council will not change, and public opinion – trust me, we have heard both sides of the issue en masse.”
Turmoil? Negative energy? How about the possibility that it could help to create a cohesive effect? Possibly some positive energy? Did we really hear from both sides en masse? Maybe, just maybe, regardless of the final outcome, maybe more folks will feel that they had a chance to be heard as opposed to having something (either action) jammed down their throats. Maybe a majority are in favor. Maybe a majority are against. Either way they need to be given the opportunity to speak out.
Again, kudos to the five who voted to postpone and a thump on the old noggin to the three who opposed the delay.
Looking forward to seeing you there Monday night.
