For reference please see my post of 3/6/21, "Shawnee is as Transparent as a Rock"
Here are the email exchanges. What a bunch of nonsense that the city manager tries to get us to believe, and the mayor's comments at the last meeting about staff having priority over citizens were outrageous.
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Nolan,
The delay in my response was caused by my racking my brain trying to figure out how to be politically correct in that response. Impossible based on most of your comments.
Also, besides the mayor, I have on this reply included the
governing body.
To make it easier for you and them to understand my responses, I have interleaved them, below, in your email, in red.
Ray
From: Nolan Sunderman [mailto:nsunderman@cityofshawnee.org]
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2021 9:40 AM
To: Michelle Distler; rerlichman
Subject: Re: Business from the floor - revisited
Ray,
I hope you are doing well and have not had any early morning trash pickups recently. Issuing fines in Municipal Court to WMA and the driver appears to have curbed that problem. Just to be clear....public comments are not being stifled. Horse nonsense, look at the delay in getting business from the floor back on the agenda, when folks could coment on other items.I do not want you or others in the community to feel that way. Members of the public can speak to any item that is on the meeting agenda.Why wassn’t business from the floor brought back sooner? Any comments/feedback/concerns can also be emailed to governingbody@cityofshawnee.org that will be directed to the entire Governing Body at the same time. Each elected official can also be contacted directly and their information is available on the City's website, published in the CityLine, and residents can call City Hall to get that information if needed. I realize you know that, and I know you were not happy with that direction. Of course I wasn’t happy because it was outright BS. Emails to the governing body did not become a matter of record, but comments on other items would.
The decision to bring back Business From the Floor is directed by Council policy under PS-7. Just so we are on the same page, the reason we suspended Business From the Floor and public comments was because of COVID-19. BS We did not want a large number of people gathered in the Council Chambers when there were other (safer) methods for members of the public to express their concerns. More BS. Unfortunately it was seldom that we had large groups of people at council meetings. One of my other complaints. We should be so lucky as to have large numbers of citizens at these meetings. The Mayor did decide to allow for public comments on agenda items several months ago. There have not been many members of the public attend our meetings since COVID began so there hasn't been a lot of public comments on agenda items. Again, we have only restricted business from the floor which is for comments regarding issues that are not on the meeting's agenda. Tijuana two stepping!!! For those type of concerns, we requested residents email their Councilmember, email the entire Governing Body, call their Councilmember, and/or meet with the Councilmember directly at their choosing. We want to encourage residents to reach out to their elected official as needed and not feel they have to wait until the second or fourth Monday to voice their concern. But again, those methods of communication do not become a matter of public record. More Tijuana two stepping if folks could address other items, why not business from the floor? Stifling citizen input!!!!
The City is not trying to block the thoughts of select individuals/groups. You are welcome to contact any elected official at your choosing. We have collected more public input and provided more public engagement opportunities over the last few years than anytime I can remember. That is something I am very proud of and I wish you were too. Even through a worldwide pandemic, we have attempted to provide a multitude of opportunities for residents to engage and provide comments in a safe manner. We met with the Citizens For a Better Shawnee multiple times including providing the Shawnee 101 presentation for feedback. We have given the Shawnee 101 presentation and have seen great success offering that in a virtual format. Along with that, we have done a number of virtual public project neighborhood meetings where previously we have only done those in person. Our attendance at those has also increased. Over the years, I have offered to meet with you meet you personally. You have been in frequent contact with our elected officials over the years as well. Mayor Distler has championed more public engagement through her Third Thursday Coffees and Quarterly Q & As. Again, you are avoiding the issue, but I expected that. Just recently, you also visited with our lead consultant for the Comprehensive Plan in a one-on-one meeting which I hope was productive. Waste of my time
Thank you for your understanding and patience as we continue to navigate a national pandemic and work to keep our community safe.
Take care and stay safe. If you would ever like to meet with me, the offer is always there.
Now, let’s address the other issue. Business from the floor has been brought back but it has been placed near the end of the meeting after miscellaneous council items. That too is BS, when it used to be earlier in the meeting. Asking folks to sit and wait (and even longer if there is an executive session) is a subtle way of stifling input. There are times when staff and other items can be quite lengthy. Asking folks to wait until the end is nonsense, and in reality rude, and is not, IMHO anywhere close to open government. What is even worse, is that at the last council meeting the mayor said that that was done because staff had priority. What???? Staff has priority over the citizens of Shawnee? What was the mayor thinking? I realize that lately her judgment appears to be clouded but that is one of the most egregious uses of chairing a council meeting that I have ever witnessed. This is tantamount to a dictatorship, or actions in a third world country. Staff has unlimited time to speak. If the topic involves a project the developer has unlimited time. Citizens are restricted to 5 minutes and the possibility of a second 5 minutes. And the mayor wants them to wait until the end of the meeting. BS. Business from the floor needs to be brought back up to its former position. And you say that this has not been an attempt at stifling citizen input. Maybe not in so many words, but definitely a subtle way to do that by possibly forcing folks to wait an inordinate amount of time to voice their opinions. Citizens do not work for staff. Citizens do not work for council. Citizens do not work for the mayor. The citizens are the employers. Saying that staff has priority is an insult to the people of Shawnee.
Thanks,
Nolan
______________________________________________________________
Nolan Sunderman | City Manager | City of Shawnee, Kansas
City Hall: 11110 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS 66203 |Office: 913-742-6200
From: Ray
Erlichman <rerlichman
Sent: Saturday, March 6, 2021 7:07 PM
To: Michelle Distler <mdistler@cityofshawnee.org>;
Nolan Sunderman <nsunderman@cityofshawnee.org>
Subject: Business from the floor - revisited
[CAUTION]:
This
email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open
attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Madam Mayor and City Manager
Sunderman,
First, let me say I am happy
to see business from the floor back on the agenda for 3/8/21. It's
placement near the end of the meeting could discourage folks from hanging
around an exceptionally long meeting to bring up items.
Neither one of you has
answered the question as to why this item was removed from the agenda all these
months. So, we will ask it again. Why was business from the floor
removed from the agenda? Please don't blame Covid as citizens had the
opportunity to comment on other agenda items. Was this an attempt to
stifle input from specific individuals or groups?
You both have an
obligation and a responsibility to answer inquiries from citizens. Both
of you work for us, we do not work for you. Rest assured we will
continue to request answers until we get them. Your continued actions of
ignoring the questions will be brought to the attention of the voters of this
city.
A copy of this
email has been posted on my blog along with additional commentary.
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Ray Erlichman
